Thanks for the memories
by PatchsFallenAngel
Summary: Delena AU. What might have happened if Elena wasn't compelled by Damon when they first met. Similar plot to season one but significantly altered. Rated M for language and violence. All rights to The Vampire Diaries and related franchises lay with the creators, not with me.
1. Chapter 1

Damon had a plan. Well, it wasn't a new plan, but it worked. Every. Single. Time. He smiled up at the stars as he laid in the middle of the abandoned road waiting for a car to drive by.

He liked to image who his next victim would be. He always hoped it would be a beautiful young woman. Nothing like food that tasted _and_ looked great. Though, he also liked the fit, middle aged men. They reminded Damon of a steak: warm and tender with a certain heavy scent that made his mouth water. He stayed away from children and the elderly. Even 169-years-old, he had morals - however hazy they had grown over time.

Then, he heard it. Her voice. _No. It couldn't be._ His mouth grew grim and his brows furrowed.

"I know, Bonnie," her voice said. Damon turned his head. The rest of her words were a blur as he took her in. _No._ His mind refused believe it. _But how? She looked just the same. Could it really be her?_

Damon stood and flashed to her side as the girl hung up her phone. "Katherine," he breathed. The girl staggered back a bit, startled by the sudden appearance of this stranger. _Katherine_ , Damon thought. _Only, her eyes..._

"Umm, no, I—" The girl looked around, thinking that the man in front of her must be talking to someone else. _Who is Katherine?_ When she noticed that the space around her was empty, she continued. "I'm Elena."

Damon stared at her for a minute, still not totally convinced that she was who she said she was. "Oh," he said, simply. "You... You just look…" He let out a sharp breath. _She is an exact replica. But what reason would Katherine have to lie?_ "I'm sorry," Damon managed. He sent her a quick smirk and swaggered closer toward the girl. "You just really remind me of someone."

As he drew closer to Elena, he caught the sound of her heartbeat. It quickened as he came closer, but it wasn't fear that he smelled on her. The sound of her thumping heart brought many emotions to the surface: confusion and sadness and a little bit of relief. _She's still in the tomb. Of course, she is. She's waiting for me to save her._ Quickly, Damon composed himself the girl before him his name. "I'm Damon."

"Not to be rude or anything Damon, but it's kinda creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."

Damon smiled and shrugged. "You're one to talk," he said. "You're out here all by yourself." _And what a stupid mistake that is_ , he added internally, although he had no real drive to harm this girl who looked so much like his lost love.

"It's Mystic Falls," Elena shot back. "Nothing bad ever happens here." The way she said it, with a smile in her voice and the wide shrug of her shoulders, it all reminded him of Katherine. Only, in that moment, all he saw Elena. _This girl_ , he thought. _She's so... intriguing. And her eyes… so… light._

After a quiet moment, Elena began to speak, telling Damon she was alone because she got into a fight with her boyfriend.

 _Ugh, high school drama_ , Damon thought. Yet, in that moment, he wanted to know more about Elena. He wanted to hear her voice - the same voice he had been longing to hear for 145 years. "About what? May I ask?"

Elena answered without really thinking about it. "Life. The future. He's got it all mapped out."

Damon smirked. He knew the answer to his question before he uttered it. "You don't want it?"

"I don't know what I want."

Damon could have laughed. He wondered for a millisecond if she was more like Katherine than she appeared. Indecisive. Confused. Damon moved on. "Well, that's not true," he said, giving her the same look he gave Katherine when she had said the same thing to him all those years ago. "You want what everybody wants."

"What? A mysterious stranger who has all the answers?" Elena asked out loud, eyeing the man before her. _We've been speaking for a few minutes at the most and he thinks he has me figured out?_

Damon laughed shortly. "Well, let's just say I've been around a long time. I've learned a few things."

"So, Damon. Tell me." Elena's eyes sparkled at the stranger before her. "What is it that I want?"

Damon was ready to accept the challenge Elena had presented him with. He had a flirtatious comeback ready to spout back at her, but the thought of flirting with an mirror-image of Katherine – who was _not_ Katherine – hurt. Already, after only two minutes, speaking with Elena was easy as breathing. Especially when Elena seemed so light and carefree. She could have the life he wanted for Katherine. She didn't know their torment.

Instead of continuing their flirtation – knowing where it would lead and foreseeing the heartbreak he would experience the next morning waking up next to Elena and realising she was not Katherine – Damon walked toward Elena, slowly. He breathed in every feature and it was a bittersweet moment. _Soon,_ he thought. _I'll free you soon, my love._

"You want a love that consumes you," Damon said when he'd neared close enough to Elena. He knew that he would need to compel her before he left. Though, not before he finished his piece. "You want passion. And adventure. And even a little danger."

Elena studied Damon for a moment, unaware of his internal monologue and curious as to how he knew her so well when they had only just met. Then she asked, "So, what do you want?"

Damon let out a shaky breath. He pictured Katherine in his mind. He deep, cool eyes that held so hurt and pain. He had wanted to save her then and he was determined to complete his mission. _Not yet…_

A car horn broke the moment between Damon and Elena. Elena recognised the car as her parents' and Damon thought quick. He needed to end this. _Now._

Without too much warning, Damon stepped forward so that his face was a breath away from Elena's. He looked her in the eyes and begun the compulsion. "I want you get everything you're looking for," he said. He was surprised at how strongly he meant those words. "But right now, I want you to forget that this happened," he continued with a smirk. "Can't have people knowing I'm in town yet."

He took a moment to soak Elena in. His face grew more serious and he thought about what their next meeting would be like – if they ever did meet again.

"Goodnight, Elena," he said with intense eyes. He waited until the last possible moment to tear his eyes away from Elena's and vanish into the night.

When Damon disappeared, Elena blinked. _How could he move so fast?_ The space around her was illuminated by the lights of her parent's car but she was still too shocked to move. _And what did he mean when he said he wanted me to forget?_ Elena shook her head clear. Then, she glanced down at the vervain bracelet on her wrist. She looked back at the spot where Damon had been not even one second earlier and thought v _ampire._


	2. Chapter 2

_Four months later_

Elena Gilbert was late to class and all she smelt was that thick, lingering scent of _boy_ that permeated the men's room where she had just cornered and breated her brother. _I can't believe Jeremy is stoned again,_ she thought as she opened the door and exited the men's room, hitting something—someone—hard.

"Pardon me," he said. Though, who _he_ was, Elena had no idea. She hadn't seen him around school before. He was tall and incredibly attractive.

As if at the same time, they both realised the sign on the door of the men's room. The boy smiled and raised an eyebrow. Elena stammered, trying to explain that she had been talking to brother in there. Though she wasn't sure why she felt the need to explain. A toilet's a toilet, right?

Embarrassed, Elena moved to walk around the boy. He moved at the same time she did. Elena felt like she was stuck in an old cliché before the boy gestured for her to pass, and she sped off down the hall. _Okay, that was mortifying_ , she thought.

After that blush-inducing encounter, Elena didn't see him again history class, where she learned little about him apart from his name, thanks to their teacher, Mr. Saltzman, taking the role. _Stefan Salvatore._ The only other Salvatore in town she knew was Zach. Like her, his family helped found the little colonial settlement now known as Mystic Falls. Zach came by her house every once in a while to renew her parents' vervain supply and he was always kind to her, albeit a little aloof.

Mr. Saltzman was not the type to call on new students to introduce themselves to the class, so Stefan's name was all she had to go off. Still, Stefan fascinated Elena. He fascinated everyone, really. Elena's friend, Caroline, did not stop talking about him during their shared lunch period and told Elena that she had already begun planning their June wedding. Though Elena rolled her eyes at Caroline's boy-crazy antics, she was happy that Caroline (and the rest of her classmates) seemed to be solely focused on Stefan Salvatore rather than Elena Gilbert, as they had these past four months. In fact, Elena's own thoughts lingered on Stefan for most of the day.

It was only when the school bell rang, signalling the end of the school day, that Elena's thoughts travelled away from the new kid and she made her way to the cemetery—something she had been doing on an almost daily basis for the last four months. The quiet, empty space allowed her to think and write.

Sitting against the back of her parent's gravestone, Elena felt the cool stone ground her. She opened her notebook and began to write. This was a gift from her mother last year when they spoke about Elena's future.

"I don't want to be with Matt or to be a doctor like Daddy or to deal with Mrs Lockwood's incessant badgering," Elena had said to her mother. Miranda Gilbert was, like many married women in Mystic Falls, a stay-at-home mother. Elena loved that he mother was always around and loved helping her with her various charity and community work, but she knew from an early age that this was not the life she wanted. "I want to be a writer and travel the world and fall in love."

 _Passion. Adventure. Danger._

Damon's words broke through the memory. The strange and mysterious man had filtered in and out of her thoughts ever since he left her on that road in the middle of nowhere. She often wondered where he was now and if he had found that Katherine person whom Elena reminded him so much of. She wondered if she would ever see him again. Whether he had been a vampire or not, Elena couldn't help the attraction she felt toward him.

 _Passion. Adventure. Danger._

A crow cawed and flew down low, landing on the gravestone in front of her. Its gaze seemed to linger on her as it continued to cry out. _It's like it's trying to communicate._ "Okay," she smiled, putting her pen down. "Hi, bird." She looked at the bird for a short while and it cawed some more. Unlike Caroline, Elena was not superstitious when it came to crows—but the longer she stared at it, the more uneasy she felt. _It's as if it's staring right at me…_

The crunch of dirt and rock underfoot caught Elena's attention and she quickly tore her eyes from the bird just as Stefan Salvatore drew closer. Elena smiled when she saw him. He gave her a shy smile in return and came to sit silently beside her.

"It's not polite to sneak up on people," Elena said, smirking him.

Stefan chuckled. "We're at a cemetery, Elena. You're practically asking for something creepy to happen."

"Ha-ha!" Elena said sarcastically. She placed her notebook and pen on the ground next to her backpack. "I see you already know my name."

Stefan grinned. "History class. I'm Stefan."

 _I know,_ Elena thought, but decided that might be a strange thing to say out loud. Instead, she asked him, "Are you related to Zach?"

"He's my uncle."

"And you've moved here to live with him?"

Stefan nodded. "My parents died many years ago. I was living with family in New York, but I missed home."

Elena gave him an apologetic look as she thought on their shared tragedy. Though, the fact that he called Mystic Falls 'home' made her want to smile. She was sure Stefan had never lived in the small Virginian town—she was sure she would have noticed _him_ —but she knew all too well how familiar and comforting Mystic Falls could be. Still, she had to ask, "You consider Mystic Falls home?"

"My family were Founders, just like the Gilberts," he said before waved at the sea of rock surrounding them. "This cemetery is full of Salvatores. I was actually paying my respects at my family's crypt when I saw you walk past. Thought I'd come and say hello." Then he gestured to the stone Elena was leant against. "I saw the name… Are these your parents?"

Elena smiled uncomfortably and nodded.

Realising he may have said the wrong thing, Stefan apologised. "I'm sorry, I just heard some people at school talking and—and I realise now that I should not have told you that…"

"It's okay." Elena turned to look at the stone over her shoulder. Her parents names were written on the other side, but she felt comfort in speaking to the large stone. "Mom, Dad. This is my friend Stefan. Stefan, meet my parents."

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr and Mrs Gilbert," Stefan said, playing along. Then, he looked at Elena. "So, we're friends now, are we? This might be moving a little fast, Elena."

"Well, I don't introduce my parents to just anyone," she smirked. Elena hadn't had a conversation this light-hearted in months. The conversations she had these days consisted of sympathetic glances and I'm-sorry's.

Stefan admired the positivity exuding from Elena. He saw the way her mouth quirked upward and couldn't help but smile as well. _Who is this girl?_

Stefan's eyes darted to the headstone again, then back to Elena. "May I ask…"

"Car accident. At the beginning of the summer," Elena said, catching his meaning. "It was tough at first, but I've always been a glass-half-full kind of girl." She smiled softly. "Not a day goes by when I don't miss them, but they would have wanted me to move on and be happy."

"What were they like?"

"Kind, compassionate…"

"Much like their daughter then."

"You hardly know me, Stefan," Elena said, pushing his knee with her own in a friendly manner. She grew quiet for a moment and then continued. "I think the hardest part is all the things they will miss out on. Seeing Jeremy and I off to prom and then college. Meeting their first grandchild. Walking me down the aisle."

"I'm sorry. I know it must be hard to talk about."

"It is," Elena admitted. "But, as my mother would have said, life goes on. I just want them to be proud of me, you know?"

The two sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes, soaking up the sombre atmosphere. Seeing her notebook, Stefan asked Elena what she was writing.

"My mum gave me this. Before. I told her that I wanted to be a writer and she bought me this and said, 'Follow your dreams, my girl.' I didn't feel like writing much over the summer, so it's been a bit neglected," she explained. "But I thought I'd start using it now."

"Why now?"

"I was feeling inspired. It's the beginning of a new school year and I think I'm finally ready to start living again like my parents would have wanted."

"And what is Elena Gilbert's idea of fun?"

"Before the accident, I was a huge party girl," Elena admitted. "But now, those things don't hold the same appeal. That all seems so… insignificant. I want more. Passion. Adventure." _Danger._ She couldn't help the smile that graced her lips when she spoke Damon's words aloud.

"You seem to have about this a lot." Stefan noted the whimsical edge to her voice.

"It was just something he said," Elena said absently. When she realised she spoke out loud, her smile grew. _I feel like I can really talk to Stefan…_ "This guy I met at the beginning of summer."

Stefan tried to hide his disappointment. _Of course, there's a guy._

"He was the typical tall, dark, and handsome stranger," Elena continued. "You know, the type they write in young adult novels. He was just standing there in the middle of the road."

"That's a little creepy."

"That's what I said!" Elena laughed. "He thought I was someone else at first, but then we got talking. Then he just disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah, like, he was there one minute and gone the next. He looked me in the eyes with this intense stare, told me to forget I ever met him, then vanished."

An uneasy feeling settled in Stefan's stomach. He tried to play it cool. "He asked you to forget about him, yet you still think about him four months later?"

"He's not easy to forget," Elena said.

"And the disappearing act—he was probably a vampire or something," Stefan joked, wanting to gauge her reaction.

Elena froze. "You know about vampires?" Then she relaxed a little. "Of course, you do, you're a Salvatore! Zach probably told you."

Elena's answer made Stefan pause. "Uh, yeah. How did you find out?"

"I was told on my sixteenth birthday. All the Founder's kids' are."

Stefan nodded slowly. _The Founding families have really progressed since I was last here._ Stefan's took on a graver tone as he spoke again. "Could… Could this guy _really_ have been a vampire?"

"Maybe," Elena shrugged. "All I know is I want to see him again. Vampire or not, there was just something about him?"

The ease with which Elena spoke about vampires confused Stefan, but what confused him more was the acceptance in her voice. She didn't seem scared about the prospect of the supernatural and she didn't seem to hold the notion that all vampires were evil like many other Founders did.

"He didn't try and hurt you, did he?"

Shaking her head, Elena replied, "Nope. But then again, I drink vervain tea regularly and carry my bracelet around with me. Not much damage a vampire could do unless they snapped my neck or something."

If Elena noticed the uncomfortable edge of Stefan's laugh, she didn't let on. She just continued smiling as if the concept of a vampire trying to hurt her was somehow amusing. Stefan, on the other hand, was halfway between curious and freaking out. "Your bracelet?" he asked, going with curious for the time being.

Elena held up her wrist. "Laced with vervain," she answered. "Didn't Zach give you something?" She looked Stefan over curiously.

"Uh, yeah," he replied. "I have… this ring. It's an old family heirloom."

"That's handy!" Elena laughed, and Stefan couldn't help but join her. This girl, who had gone through such tragedy at an early age, had a smile that made his dead heart skip a beat. For a moment, he considered telling Elena who he was— _what_ he was—but decided against it. He _had_ only just met her, and he was still unsure how she would react.

What he did know, however, was that he wanted to be around Elena Gilbert and her infectious smile… forever.


	3. Chapter 3

Stefan hadn't felt this happy in so long. He hated that he was masquerading as a high school student, but he felt the urge to be close to Elena—to know her.

 _She looks just like Katherine._

He shook the thought from his mind. When Stefan first saw Elena, he was frightened that Katherine had found a way to come back. Elena looked exactly like her, it was uncanny. Although Stefan had seen Katherine be carried away to die in the fire at Fell's Church in 1864, there was a brief moment where he was not convinced that Elena wasn't his ex-lover. After all, if anyone knew how to evade certain death, it was Katherine Pierce.

Ultimately, Stefan knew that Elena wasn't Katherine. He saw it in her eyes when he met her earlier that day when they were in the cemetery. When he saw her four months ago, however…

Stefan thought back to the night he heard Elena and her parents drive off Wickery Bridge. He had been hunting in the woods, on his way to see Zach and check in for a few days. Not that he thought Zach appreciated seeing Stefan all that much—but Stefan had been feeling homesick.

 ** _When he heard the car and the sound of three human screams, Stefan used all of his vampiric speed to flash to the bridge. Seeing only the roof of a car sinking into the river, Stefan jumped in, hoping to help the people trapped in the vehicle. When he saw her face, he froze. Only for a millisecond. Then he heard the faint thump of her heartbeat reverberate through the water._ She's human, _he thought. He tore open the door and reached for her, pulling her free of her seatbelt. He swam up through the thick water and pulled her onto the riverbank. He did CPR, careful not to break any ribs, and watched as she choked the water up from her lungs. She remained unconscious, but she was breathing. He dove back in the water, hoping to retrieve the two other humans from the car, but as he drew closer to the vehicle, he heard their heartbeats slow… and slow… and stop. Stefan stilled a metre from the car and realised that, while he wouldn't be able to save these two people, he could save her._**

 ** _Stefan swum back up the riverbank where the girl lay. A short distance away, he heard the rumbling of another car. Stefan flashed up to the bridge as the car was coming to cross over. There was only one person in the car, thankfully – a young woman. He compelled the woman to call 911 and report a car accident._**

 ** _"_ _You saw the car sinking but you arrived too late," Stefan compelled the woman. "You noticed a girl pull herself to the riverbank before passing out, and then you called the police. Let them know the girl is alive but she might be injured." Stefan waited for the woman to repeat back what he told her and pull out her phone before he vanished._**

That had been four months ago. Since that night, he followed Elena. He had so many questions, many of them relating to Katherine, but he also found himself wondering who Elena was as an individual. From his interaction with her that afternoon, Stefan knew that she was sad and kind and funny. But he wondered what she was like before her parents died. When he spoke to her a few hours ago, she had said she was a party-girl. _I think I would have liked to see that._

After speaking with Elena for hours in the cemetery, Stefan felt more drawn to her. Especially when he realised she was nothing like Katherine. _She's dead. It's okay. Breathe. Katherine is dead._

With those thoughts, Stefan entered the Salvatore boarding house only to be stopped in the foyer by Zach.

"You promised," Stefan's great-nephew said. Having to call him _Uncle_ Zach in public almost made Stefan laugh, but if he wanted to stay in town…

Zach slammed a newspaper into Stefan's chest. Stefan looked at the front page. _Camping couple dead in animal attack. Drained of blood._ "It was an animal attack," Stefan said, reading the article.

"Don't give me that crap," Zach replied. "You said you have it under control."

"I do," Stefan said, straight-faced. He might look seventeen, but he hated when Zach spoke to him like he was a child.

"Please Stefan," Zach said, ignoring Stefan. "Mystic Falls is a better place now. I don't want you coming into town and stirring things up."

"That's not my intention."

"Then what is?" Zach's voice took on a pleading tone. "Why did you come back? After all this time, why now?"

There was a sharp edge to Stefan's voice when he replied. "I don't have to explain myself." He could feel himself getting angrier the more Zach spoke. _Breathe_ , he thought in an attempt to calm his blood lust. _Count to ten. Remember what Lexi taught you._

"Look," Zach sighed, deciding to back down. He was alone with a vampire after all. Stefan may be family, but he could easily kill Zach in an instant. "I can't tell you what to do. But coming back here was a mistake."

Stefan watched angrily as his nephew turned and walked away. When Zach was gone, Stefan sped up to his room, his breathe becoming laboured in his anger. _How dare he confront me like that!_

When Stefan reached his bedroom, he saw the journal he had been reading that morning before school. Katherine's journal. She had left a trunk of her belongings when she was taken away to be killed and, inside the trunk had been her two most recent journals. Stefan had kept them all these years, hoping to see the version of Katherine he had known between the pages. The version of herself that she had compelled him to believe. Instead, he began to see how chaos reigned wherever Katherine stepped—and how she loved every moment of it.

Stefan picked the journal up off his bed. The year 1964 was written in her soft cursive on the inside page, below a delicate image of herself drawn by Stefan's brother only days before Katherine's execution. Sometimes Stefan would look at the picture and think about his brother. Sometimes—most of the time—he would think about her.

"I see you're still hung up on our lost love."

The voice came from behind Stefan. It was low and deep. He knew who it was without looking. He put Katherine's journal back on the shelf where it belonged and turned to face the man who had just entered through his bedroom window. "Damon."

"Hello, brother," Damon said.

The air was thick with tension. Neither Stefan nor Damon moved for a long moment, until Stefan spoke and broke the tension. Some of it, at least.

"When'd you get here?" Stefan asked, warily. He hadn't seen his brother in almost twenty years and it nothing good ever came of Damon's arrival.

"Well, I couldn't miss you're first day of school," Damon said sarcastically, looking around his brother's room. He walked over to the bookshelf. _Stefan and his diaries._ Damon chuckled. "You're hair's different. I like it."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon."

"Thank god!" Damon sighed, walking slowly over to where his brother stood. "I couldn't deal with another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look did not suit you."

"Why are you here?" Stefan's voice grew a little stronger.

"I missed my little brother!"

"You hate small towns. It's boring, there's nothing for you to do," Stefan said, becoming angrier. _What is he up to?_

"I've managed to keep myself busy."

Stefan thought to the newspaper article Zach had shown him. _Camping couple dead in animal attack. Drained of blood._ "Why are you here now?"

Damon's eyes narrowed. "I could ask you the same question… However, I'm fairly certain your answer could be summed all up into one little word: Elena."

Damon thought fleetingly about the girl he had met four months ago. He had hoped to never see her again, but when he's caught Stefan's scent in the woods one day a few weeks ago, he felt the need to investigate. Fast forward to today, and his brother seemed to have settled back into their charming little hometown. _He doesn't deserve to be happy,_ the voice in his head said.

Unaware of his brother's thoughts, Stefan froze at the mention of Elena's name.

Damon noted Stefan's silence and continued. "She took my breath away. Elena. She's a dead-ringer for Katherine." Damon smirked at his brother, wanting to see Stefan fired up. _Then I want to extinguish him_. "Is it working, Stefan? Being around her, being in her world? Does she make you feel alive?"

"She's not Katherine." Stefan's voice was hard but quieter this time.

"Well, let's hope not. We both know how that ended." Damon eyed his brother closely. "Tell me, when was the time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

"I know what you're doing, Damon. It's not gonna work." _Remember what Lexi taught you. Reign in the anger. Control your emotions._

Damon knew his brother meant what he said. Stefan was too controlled these days. Bored with the impasse, Damon sped toward his brother, stopping inches from Stefan's face. He pushed his brother back to provoke him. He wanted this fight, he needed it. He looked at Stefan and saw the reason Katherine was not by his side.

"Come on," Damon snarled. "Don't you crave a little?"

"Stop it."

"Let's do it together. I saw a couple girls out there. Or, let's just cut to the chase. Let's just go straight for Elena."

"Stop it!"

"Imagine what her blood tastes like!"

Stefan felt himself losing control.

"I can."

When Damon uttered those two words, Stefan snapped. "I said stop!" Stefan flew into his brother, tackling him out the window. Glass shattered around them, and they fell to the ground.

Damon moved out from under Stefan and leaned against a hedge, dusting glass from his leather jacket. "I'm impressed," he said casually. "I give it a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face thing." Damon pulled a dramatic face, barring his fangs, and made a high-pitched _rawr_ noises. "It was good."

"You think it's all fun and games, Damon, but wherever you go, people die." Stefan thought back to the newspaper headline.

"That's a given."

"Not here," Stefan asserted. "I won't allow it."

 _Has Stefan learned nothing?_ Damon smirked. "I take that as an invitation."

"Damon, please." Stefan looked at Damon hard, hoping to find some evidence of his big brother behind those dark, determined eyes. "After all these years, can't we just give it a rest?"

"I promised you an eternity of misery. I'm just keeping my word." Damon stalked closer to his brother. He had loved Stefan once. Part of him still did. But since he lost Katherine… nothing else mattered to him.

"Just stay away from Elena!"

Damon almost laughed at his brother's words. _But I saw her first_ , he thought. Truth be told, Damon had no wish to cause Elena harm. He might use her to toy with Stefan – after all, the two did look cosy in that graveyard earlier that day – but hurting her would feel too much like hurting Katherine, and Damon was vehemently opposed to causing his love pain.

A noise inside the boarding house caught Damon's attention. "I think we woke Zach up." Damon turned and walked back toward the house. "Sorry Zach," he called out.

Stefan couldn't help but follow behind.


	4. Chapter 4

"Vicki Donovan was attacked by an animal last night," Caroline whispered to her two best friends, Bonnie and Elena. It was a Friday afternoon and they were sitting on the bleachers watching the boys at football practice. At least Bonnie was. Elena and Caroline were taking the time to go over their study notes. Although Caroline was the smartest person in their grade, she was still jealous of Elena's work ethic and felt as if she was slacking whenever Elena was hard at work. Although Elena hadn't seemed to be working all that hard, Caroline noticed. _I suppose it's only the first week of school… I deserve this break!_

"Third attack this week," Elena replied, pushing her highlighters and post-its aside. "Do you think I should call Matt? He might need someone to talk to?"

"You think he wants to talk to his ex-girlfriend?" Caroline scoffed. Bonnie hit Caroline's arm and Caroline looked shot Elena an apologetic look. "Sorry, you know what I mean."

Elena shrugged and let out a sigh. "Yeah, I know."

"Besides," Bonnie began. "I've seen the looks lingering between you and New Guy."

"His name is Stefan."

"I know his name," Bonnie said. "I just enjoy how defensive you get."

Although Caroline was jealous of the sudden friendship forming between Elena and Stefan, she couldn't help but perk up at the first sign of gossip. "Spill!"

"There's nothing to spill," Elena assured her friends. "We've only hung out a couple times."

Caroline let out a dramatic groan. "What's the use of all the hotties fawning over you when you don't take advantage of it," Caroline whined. "At least send a couple my way!"

"I'll keep that in mind, Care," Elena said sarcastically. She loved Caroline. They had been best friends since the first grade. But the girl had a way of hitting Elena's last nerve.

"Since Elena is being boring," Bonnie spoke up, ignoring the glare Elena shot her way. "What _has_ been going on with all of these attacks lately?"

"My mom thinks it's a V-A-M-P." When Sherriff Forbes told her daughter about the existence of vampires on her sixteenth birthday, Caroline's Twilight-obsession had grown in magnitude and she had taken a sudden interest in her mother's work. "Mom said Vicki wasn't drained of blood like those two campers last weekend, but she had lost a lot of blood. I heard that she was waiting in the woods for Tyler Lockwood—he apparently found her after hearing her scream."

"Luckily the town has a large stock of vervain," Elena said upon hearing the V-word. The girls were always careful when speaking about the supernatural in public. Only the Founding families knew about the existence of vampires, each family taking the time to reveal their secret underbelly to their children when they turned sixteen.

"Yeah, at least our precious Founder's are safe." Bonnie's voice was quiet, but she knew Elena and Caroline heard her. She hated bringing the topic up to her friends, but she hated the elitism that reigned in Mystic Falls even more. "You two are safe because you come from Founding families. The rest of this town is livestock."

"What are we supposed to do Bonnie?" Caroline asked. "Tell the town that vampires exist and that they need to carry around a special herb to stay safe? They'd think we'd gone mad!"

"It's just not fair is all," Bonnie sighed. "I don't need vervain because I'm a witch and can't be compelled, but what about everyone else? They have no idea what's out there."

Elena put her hand on Bonnie's. "I know. Some of the Founders were thinking of putting vervain in the water supply but it's not exactly an easy thing to do. Everyone would question why their water tastes and smells strange. Can you imagine?"

"The best we can do is try and keep each other safe," Caroline added. "Besides, if we scare _all_ the vampires away, how else will I find my very own Edward Cullen?"

Elena and Bonnie rolled their eyes at their friend. In the corner of her eye, Elena saw Stefan leaning against his car. She hadn't had much time to hang out with him since their time in the cemetery four days previous, but they had been paired up for a new history project. Elena was excited that Stefan was her partner. He seemed to know a lot about history, particularly the history of Mystic Falls, having corrected their new history teacher, Mr Saltzman, the day before. Besides, Elena really liked Stefan.

"I need to go," Elena told her friends. "Stefan and I agreed to meet up after school to work on our history project."

"Yeah-huh. 'History project.'" Caroline used air quotes when she spoke. Elena ignored her and ran off to see Stefan. As she drew closer, she noticed he was studying his phone with great interest. "Boo," she said as she drew near.

Stefan looked up at her a tentative smiled. Elena almost asked him if anything was wrong, but he said hi and pulled her into a quick hug.

"Are you ready to start this project?" Elena asked. Stefan look confused for a second, then snapped his fingers. "Yes, the project. Did you pick a time period?"

"I was thinking the Civil War?"

A secret smile graced Stefan's lips. "Sure, do you want to start it tonight?"

"Yes," Elena groaned. "The sooner, the better, please!"

Stefan laughed. "Not a fan of history?"

"I like it well enough, but when your history teacher is dating your aunt and constantly talks about it at the dinner table, it gets old!" Elena joked.

"Lucky for you, I'm a history buff," said Stefan. "We're going to get top marks, I'm sure of it."

"Great! Wanna do this at your place?"

Stefan hesitated. Ever since Damon made an appearance on Monday night, Stefan didn't feel comfortable having Elena at the boarding house.

"Oh, come on, please!" Elena begged. "I've always wanted to see inside that mansion."

Stefan rolled his eyes and laughed. "It's a boarding house, it's supposed to be big."

"Puh-lease," Elena drawled. "That place hasn't been used as a boarding house since before I was born."

 _Damon did say he would be hunting tonight._ Stefan tried not to cringe as he imagined Damon's definition of 'hunting'. "Sure, okay," Stefan smiled. "We can do the project at my house. I have a bigger library anyway."

"A library?" Elena's eyes grew at the thought. Would it be like that scene in _Beauty and the Beast_?

"Want to ride with me?"

Shaking her head, Elena motioned toward her car parked not far from Stefan's. "I'll meet you there."

"That works out great, actually. I have something to do beforehand," Stefan said, suddenly thinking about how desperately he needed to hunt before spending one-on-one time with Elena. "Swing by around at 6."

By 5:30, Elena's leg was bouncing. She was intrigued by what Stefan's library looked like. Maybe, if Stefan wasn't there, Zach might let her see it. _Surely, he won't mind if I'm a little early?_

At 5:45, Elena pulled up at the Salvatore boarding house. She remembered passing the house as a kid. It looked so grand for a small town like Mystic Falls. She often wondered how Zach lived there alone. Her parents had told her the place shut down as a boarding house in the nineties when a few of the kids living there were attacked by wild animals. The real kind, not the vampire kind. Apparently, Zach had been distraught that the children in his care had come to such harm and decided to retire. "He always wanted children," Elena remembered her mother saying. "But when the attacks occurred, he shut himself away and swore off having a family."

 _At least he has Stefan now,_ Elena thought has she reached the front door of the boarding house. The door was tall and wide and made of a dark wood. She knocked on the door but jumped back in fright as it easily swung open at her touch. Elena had seen enough scary movies that the action made her pause, if only for a second.

"Stefan!" Elena called out. She pushed open the door further. "Stefan?" She called out again, stepping inside this time. When she entered, she found herself in a small foyer. In front of her was a tall staircase that must have connected to the second and third levels of the house. Beyond the staircase was a wide archway with a stack of short steps that flowed down to a large, expansive living room.

Elena remained in the foyer but called Stefan's name again. It was quiet. Eerily so. She began to regret arriving early when the door creaked behind her. She turned and ran into the man standing in the doorway.

 _I have got to stop running into people,_ Elena thought as she looked up at the man's face. She couldn't believe it.

"You must be Elena," he smirked. "I'm—"

"Damon," Elena breathed.

Damon raised his eyebrows, his smile growing wider. "I see my brother has been talking about me."

Elena saw a hint of tooth and the sight thrilled her. He was as attractive as she remembered him being: thick, black hair and startling blue eyes. He wore a leather jacket that covered wide-set shoulders she that, in the past four months, she had dreamed about hold onto as he sped them both away into the night. His appearance screamed _bad boy_.

Wrapping up her appreciative glance, Elena settled for staring into Damon's eyes. They sparkled with mischief. _Passion. Adventure. Danger._

"Actually," Elena said, raising her forearm to show Damon the hemp bracelet that hung on her wrist. "I wear vervain," she said simply. "My parents gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday when they told me about vampires."

Damon took a step back, looking at her quizzically but seeming to catch on. _Stefan never mentioned this._ To learn more, Damon decided to played the fool. "I don't understand."

"You mean, you don't remember?" Elena fake pouted, stepping forward so their chests were almost touching. He was tall enough that she had to crane her neck a little to look him in the eye. Never had she felt more powerful than when she flirted with Damon. "Four months ago. Abandoned road. You tried to compel me."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yeah?" Elena asked, before putting on a deep, mocking voice. "Passion. Adventure. Danger."

Saying those words out loud instead of having them floating around in her head constantly was freeing. Though, Elena hesitated as Damon's features grew dark. Her heart quickened, and she wasn't entirely sure if it was because she was scared or because her attraction to him grew with each passing second.

"Don't worry," she assured him quickly, her face turning somewhat serious. "I didn't tell anyone about you. Well, I told Bonnie and Caroline but they're fine with vampires. Oh, and Stefan, but I didn't tell him your name. Wait… Why are you in Stefan's house?"

Damon remained silent for too long when Elena spoke up, "I know you're the strong, silent type but it gets kinda creepy after a while."

"Elena?" Elena peered around Damon's shoulder to see Stefan standing on the porch, his eyes fixated on Damon.

"Stefan!" she said happily. "This is the guy I told you about. From last summer. Damon. Though, I'm guessing you know him seeing as though he's in your house." She gave an awkward laugh as the tension between the two men began to dawn on her.

Damon remained where he stood, looking at Elena curiously. He had expected this meeting to go much differently and he didn't like how familiar she seemed with him. _But by Jove, she looks just like Katherine…_

Stefan manoeuvred his way around Damon's body and came into the foyer where Elena and Damon seemed determined not to break eye contact. He stood in front of Damon in a way that Elena was behind him, separating her from his brother.

Elena noticed Stefan's stance and asked in a wavering voice, "Stefan? What's going on?"

Damon's eyes shot to Stefan. When he addressed his brother, his words were harsh. "Yes, brother. What _is_ going on?"

"Brother?" Elena questioned. "Stefan, you didn't mention that your brother was a vampire… In fact," she pushed his shoulder casually and stepping up beside him, not liking how he was acting so territorial around her, "you never told me you had a brother at all."

The two men ignored her.

"How did she resist my compulsion. Did you give her that bracelet?"

"The Founders Council has changed since we here last. They've started telling their heirs at sixteen. She's had the bracelet since before I knew her."

Elena's eyes darting back and forth between Stefan and Damon as they both ignored her presence. "Hello, I'm still here."

Damon had not expected her to remember him. He had planned to flirt with her a little, get under her skin, as a way to get at his brother. He was going to use her as a distraction until his Katherine found her way back to him. Her remembering their first encounter threw a wrench into his plans.

"I… I need to go," he said, turning away.

"Wait," said Elena. "You're not going to just disappear on me again, are you?"

Damon could hear the fear and worry in Elena's voice. Katherine had seldom spoken to him so softly. Then again, he loved her rough passion. _How can they look so similar yet be so different?_

Quickly, Damon forced the errant thought from his mind and shot his brother a withering look. "Deal with her," he spat.

"Deal with me?!" Elena yelled. "I don't know who you think you are, but just you wait, Damon—"

Damon vanished before she could finish her threat. When she had registered that he had gone, Elena's fiery eyes shot to Stefan. "What the _heck_ was that?"

Stefan sighed. "Okay, come with me," he said, gesturing to the staircase. "We have a lot to discuss."


	5. Chapter 5

"You're a vampire?"

Stefan nodded.

"You saved me the night of the accident?"

Stefan nodded again and began to apologise – he still felt immense guilt for not saving her parents in time – but Elena continued talking.

"And Damon is your brother."

"Estranged brother," Stefan clarified.

"And this," Elena said holding up an old image of a woman who could be her twin. "This is Katherine?"

Stefan nodded once more.

Elena marvelled at the image. "No wonder he called me Katherine," she breathed.

"What?" asked Stefan.

"When we met that night on that abandoned road, he called me Katherine..."

"What else did he say?"

"Nothing much. Once he realised I wasn't Katherine, he relaxed. We started talking about… well, some really personal stuff. Okay, it was mostly me. I actually don't know why I word vomited everything out like that, I just felt so comfortable around him, you know. Like I'd known him for years. So, I just blabbered the whole story about me and my ex-boyfriend Matt. To a complete stranger! Ha! Oh my god, I'm blabbering now to you, I'm so sorry!"

Stefan looked at her quizzically. He had never seen Elena ramble so much before, and her eyes seemed glassy as if she was visiting a far-off memory. "Are you okay?" he said, waiting for her to break. _Is she in shock?_

Elena turned her gaze to Stefan and cocked her head to the side as if she was contemplating something. "Yes? Maybe? I don't know."

"I understand if you can't come to terms with what I am," Stefan said, sighing.

"Oh no!" Elena exclaimed. "The vampire thing is fine! Okay, not _fine_ , but I'm not going to tell anyone. You're my friend, Stefan."

Stefan relaxed a little. _She is too good…_

"Do…Do you know why I look like her?" asked Elena.

"It's possible that Katherine is a distant relative…"

"How?" Elena asked

Stefan took a deep breathe. "After the accident, I spend months trying to find out more about you." Stefan admitted. "I needed to make sure you weren't Katherine and, when I found that out, I wanted to know how you could look so much like her."

Stefan took a moment to look long and hard at Elena. _Maybe I've given her enough shocks for one day,_ Stefan contemplated. "I found your birth certificate at City Hall. Elena… you were adopted."

Silence.

Stefan looked on at the girl in front of him. Her eyes and mouth were wide. He was worried about her. _Should I not have said anything?_

"Elena?" Stefan said slowly, hoping to somehow get her to respond.

"Adopted?" Her voice was small, fragile.

"Elena—"

"No, no, no, no," she whispered repeatedly as she had begun pacing in front of his newly-fixed bedroom window. "They would have told me. We didn't keep secrets. I can't—"

"Elena—"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Stefan told her, placing a hand on each shoulder and making her stop pacing. "Elena, listen. I know you must be angry—"

"I'm not angry about the adoption," Elena said, her voice still shaky. "But why would they keep it from me?"

"I don't know," began Stefan, "I'm sorry I can't give you anymore answers. If it helps, I'll let you know as soon as I find anything else." Then he paused. "Unless you don't want me to continue looking? I mean, it's your family history, it's totally up to you…"

Elena looked at Stefan, his soft eyes shining with such compassion it made her chest ache. _Do I want him to continue?_ she thought. She was still mourning one set of parents, what if she found out her birth parents were dead as well? _I don't think I could handle it…_

"Not right now," Elena responded. "I… I need some time."

Stefan smiled weakly. "Of course."

"I would like to learn more about Katherine, though, and why exactly we can look the same. Like _exactly_ the same, Stefan. It's kinda creepy." Elena let out a half-hearted laugh.

"It was at first," Stefan admitted. "But it's easy to see the differences now that I know you."

"Yeah?" When Elena first saw the image of Katherine, she wondered how similar she was to the woman who had stolen Damon's heart. _Does he see the differences?_ The thought that Damon only saw her as Katherine 2.0 upset Elena, but Stefan's words gave her hope. "In what ways are we different?"

"Your kind and open and give of this warmth that makes people want to be around you. I mean, you were in a car accident where your parents died and you're still optimistic about life! You amaze me."

Elena averted her eyes at the compliment. Stefan always thought so highly of her, even though Elena knew she could be a spoiled brat at time. Not for the first time, Elena wondered if Stefan might like her as more than a friend. _I do find him attractive, but—_ Damon's face drifted into her thoughts.

Instead of addressing the matter, Elena derailed the conversation. "Did you love her?" she asked, talking about Katherine.

Stefan visibly cringed. "I thought I did. But she brainwashed me. Compelled me to only see the good in her. Compelled me to…" The words caught in Stefan's throat. He had never said them out loud and was hesitant to do so in front of Elena.

Elena caught on quickly and asked, "And Damon?"

"Damon knew what she was, how evil and manipulative she could be, and he still loved her."

"Is that why you are estranged?"

"Partly. She drove a wedge between us, pitted us against each other for her own amusement. But… I did some bad things, too."

Elena stepped toward Stefan and put a hand on his arm. He smiled at her touch. The gesture was comforting and when he looked into Elena's deep brown eyes, he wanted her to know everything – to know _him._

"Katherine had been living with my family for almost six months before she told me that she was a vampire. I was conflicted. Since we had settled in Mystic Falls, Father had told us that vampires were soulless monsters, but the Katherine I knew was nothing like the creatures he had described. I accidently tipped him off about Katherine, and he and the other Founders took her and several other vampires around town. The captives were all burned in Fell's Church."

"So she's dead?"

Stefan nodded. "I didn't see it happen. Damon and I were already dead. Shot by our own father, can you believe it?" Stefan scoffed, remembering the events of that night and his father, who had shown him nothing but love, aiming his shotgun at Stefan's chest. "When we woke up, Damon was furious at me. He blamed me for Katherine being taken and it was only then that I realised that he loved her too. Memories that she had compelled me to forget began flooding back."

Elena noticed Stefan's face growing sadder as he continued his story, but she didn't stop him.

"Damon was angry that I had woken up. He said that Katherine promised him forever. I told him that he could still have forever, but with me instead of Katherine." Stefan smiled slightly, reliving a fond memory. "When we were children, we liked cowboy stories and Damon always had a dream of going out West to make his fortune. I told him we could still do that, together. But he didn't want it. He said he didn't want forever without Katherine, but… but I made him."

"Made him?" Elena asked.

Stefan's eyes suddenly turned pleading. "You have to understand, Elena. He's my brother. He may hate me, but I will always love him. I couldn't let him die. And, truth be told, I wanted to be a vampire. The power and freedom I felt in only those first few hours of my transition was… addictive, and I wanted more. I wanted Damon to feel it too."

Understanding dawned on Elena.

"After I forced him to feed on a woman from a neighbouring plantation, he told me that he would repay me with an eternity of misery." Stefan paused to point to the large ring on his finger. "Katherine's friend, a witch named Emily, was there when we woke up, gave Damon and I these daylight rings. Damon left straight away and I didn't see him for another fifty years. And me… I…I became the monster that those old horror stories portray. I was so addicted to the power. My bloodlust controlled me. Then I met Lexi at the turn-of-the-century and she helped me get back on track. I switched to drinking animal blood because the lure of human blood is too intoxicating to control. I fell of the wagon a few times, but Lexi always caught me."

"I would love to meet her someday," Elena said, her words causing Stefan to smile.

"I think you'd like her," he said. "You're both beautiful and strong-willed."

Elena didn't have time to comment on Stefan calling her beautiful before he continued, "Every couple of decades, Damon would find me, make my life miserable, and then leave. And, I'm afraid Elena. I'm afraid he'll come for you."

Elena saw Stefan's fears and guilt threatening to pour out of his eyes. She wanted to comfort him with her words, but she didn't think she was the one he needed to hear from. _He needs his brother._ Instead, Elena pulled Stefan into a warm hug. When she pulled back, she said, "I'm not worried about Damon," she said slowly. "He's had numerous opportunities to hurt me and he hasn't. I am, however, worried about you…"

"You don't understand. He's dangerous, Elena. Those campers they found in the woods. Vicki Donovan. Those weren't animal attacks. That was Damon."

Elena inhaled sharply, and Stefan regretted being so abrupt with her. _She needs to understand._

"Look, I'm just trying to look out for you, Elena."

"I know, but I can take care of myself Stefan. Besides, Damon is here for a reason. Why don't we take the time to try and help him?" _She hated the thought that he killed those campers, but Vicki was still alive. That had to count for something, right? Maybe he wasn't all bad?_

"He's beyond help, Elena."

"He's your brother, Stefan,"

"Why are you defending him? I just told you that he's a murderer and you want to house-train him? Are you sure he didn't compel you that night you first met him?"

 _Passion. Adventure. Danger._

"You didn't see him then, Stefan. I saw something in him, something that was deep and raw. The Damon in your story – the one that wanted to go on adventures with his brother and fell in love with the wrong woman – that is the Damon I met. For some bizarre reason, for just a moment, he let me see the real him."

Stefan let out a long sigh. "You're attracted to him." It wasn't a question.

Elena shrugged. "Yes, I won't deny that. But it's more than that. When I first met him, he gave me such a thrill. But in the couple of minutes that we spoke on that old, abandoned road—it was like he knew me better than I know myself. And earlier tonight, that same feeling came over me. He makes me feel… Alive."

 _Does she make you feel alive?_ That is what Damon asked Stefan when he blown into town a few days prior. The truth was, Elena did make him feel alive. It just seemed as though she didn't feel the same about him.

Stefan tried hard not to show Elena how much her words hurt him. "I won't let him hurt you," he promised.

"Thank you for your concern, Stef," Elena said, looking up into Stefan's sweet face. "But I won't let him hurt me either."

Stefan's smile was a little stiff as if he didn't truly believe her. Instead of working himself up about Elena's attraction to his brother, Stefan changed the subject. "Look, I have a couple of Katherine's old diaries. How about you have a look through them and see if you can find anything that will help us figure out this wonder-twin mystery. I've looked at them a hundred times but maybe a fresh pair of eyes is needed."

Elena grew excited at the prospect of learning more about Katherine, but she was also worried about Stefan. In the short time they had known each other, he had become a close friend and she hated seeing him hurt. Instead of voicing her concerns, she went with excited.

"Sure!" she said, taking the journals that Stefan began pulling off the shelves in his bedroom.

* * *

On the other side of town, Bonnie sat at a table at the Mystic Grill with Caroline. "I'm glad you were smart enough to call me to come and get you, but I really need you to sober up so that I can take you home. So that I can take _me_ home!"

Caroline was sitting down across from Bonnie, her head in her hands, a steaming cup of coffee in front of her.

"Caroline? Are you listening to me?"

Caroline groaned again and looked up at her friend. "I should not have gone to that party tonight!"

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Did you at least meet anyone cute?"

Caroline grimaced. "Of course not. I'm no _Elena_." The last sentence was laced with a heavy mix of sarcasm and jealousy.

Bonnie shifted uncomfortably as she did whenever Caroline became this way. She often wondered why Elena and Caroline were friends when Caroline had an obvious inferiority complex and Elena was too selfish to see how Caroline felt. Then Bonnie felt guilty for thinking about her two best friends like that, _I mean we are only teenage girls, being a little self-centred and insecure is normal, right?_

"How come the guys I want, never want me?" Caroline whined, brushing her hair behind her ears. Her head was pounding but this was all she could think about. _Am I not pretty enough? I mean, Elena wasn't even there! Even when she's not around I'm nobody's first choice!_ Bonnie mumbled something under her breathe as Caroline continued. "I'm inappropriate, I always say the wrong thing. Elena always says the right thing." She let out an exasperated sigh. "She doesn't even try, and they just pick her! She's always the one that everyone picks. For everything! I try so hard and... I'm never the one."

"It's not a competition, Caroline."

"Yes, it is," Caroline sulked. _Even that new kid, Stefan, went straight for Elena without even a look in my direction!_

"Look, I'm going to the bathroom," Bonnie began. "Then we can go home. But, to cheer you up, how about I let you plan a shopping trip this weekend? It can even be an Elena-free event, if you like…"

Bonnie's attempt at cheering her up brought a small smile to Caroline's face. "Okay," she nodded, before adding, "We can invite Elena. I'm just grumpy because I need sleep."

Bonnie agreed and hugged her friend goodbye before heading off to the ladies' room. Once Bonnie had gone, Caroline noticed a man at the table next to hers. He smiled at her and she blushed. He was hot. Like, out-of-this-world hot. Caroline smiled back, and he motioned for her to join him. The thumping in Caroline's brain was incessant, but she gathered up the energy to go over and sit across from him.

"I'm Damon, he said with a smirk that made her melt. When Caroline introduced herself, all she could think was, _He chose me._


	6. Chapter 6

Elena wasn't usually one to judge a person she had never met, but she could say with great certainty that she hated Katherine Pierce.

After returning home from Stefan's with Katherine's diaries the night before, Elena stayed up reading about the woman who was most likely her great-times-infinity grandmother. Or at least – hopefully, Elena prayed – some random woman that just happened to share her face.

Elena sat at the dining table, combing through another diary entry. Her aunt Jenna was (attempting) to make pancakes and her brother Jeremey was still asleep.

 ** _Dear Diary, m_** ** _y boys are fighting again. Damon_** ** _is angry that Stefan and I are spending_** ** _so much time together and Stefan has_** ** _no idea about Damon and I._ _I can see_** ** _their bond breaking more and more each_** ** _day. Maybe one of them will kill the other_** ** _and I won't have to worry about choosing_** ** _between them._** ** _Though I do not think I_** ** _could live without Damon's raw,_ _unadulterated_** ** _passion. Making love to him_ _is like kissing fire._** ** _And Stefan… H_ _e makes such a lovely pet._** ** _He is so obedient, and he looks at me with such_** ** _love. It's a shame he's too gentlemanly._** ** _I hate_** ** _having to compel him to make love to me, but_** ** _I am so used to getting what I want._**

"Okay, here goes," said Jenna, pulling Elena from the diary and putting a plate down in front of Elena. "Is Jeremy awake yet?"

 _He's probably stoned again. Or hungover. Or both._ Elena was angry at her brother's life choices, but she was also concerned for him. Jenna had attempted to give him the I-was-cool-once-too talk before school began last week, but he'd completely ignored her.

Instead of voicing her thoughts, Elena closed the diary, pushing all thoughts of Katherine Pierce from her mind for the time being, and told Jenna that Jeremy was still in bed. She looked at the plate Jenna had prepared with scepticism. Much like herself, Elena's aunt wasn't the greatest cook. To be on the safe side, Elena smothered her pancakes in butter and syrup.

"Should I go and wake him up, or…"

"No, just let him sleep." Elena tried not to laugh at her aunt's trepidation. Jenna had done so much for her and Jeremy since their parents died. "Hey, Jenna…" Elena began. Thinking about her parents made her think of something else Stefan had revealed the night before. "Can I ask you something?"

Jenna smiled. "Of course! You know you can talk to me about anything."

"I was wondering if you knew… about my adoption?"

Elena's aunt froze, her mouth open and a pancake-laden fork poised at her lips. Jenna quickly recovered and lowered the utensil. "Adoption?" Her voice was high-pitched and nervous.

"I've been looking into our family tree. It's a personal project, just something that helped me feel closer to mom and dad."

Elena hated lying to her aunt, but she didn't feel like going into the whole I-have-an-500-year-old-vampire-twin drama. Jenna knew about vampires (Elena's father once said that Jenna was an honorary Gilbert after all) but Elena was still trying to wrap her head around what had happened yesterday. _A few white lies won't hurt her._

"I found my birth certificate at Town Hall and it mentioned my adoption. No record of my birth parents though. I just wanted to know if you knew anything more?"

Jenna coughed uncomfortably. "Miranda and Grayson never spoke to me about it. I was only eleven at the time. All I know is one day Miranda and Grayson were crying to my parents about not being able to conceive and the next day they showed up carrying you. No one asked questions. You were a Gilbert from the very start." Jenna reached across the table and grasped Elena's hand. "I fell in love with you instantly. I held you in my arms and promised to be the best aunt ever! Then you peed on me."

Elena laughed and squeezed her aunt's hand in her own, encouragingly. "You've kept that promise, Jenna. I don't know what Jeremy and I would have done without you."

Jenna had begun to cry. "Oh, Elena! I would do anything for you two. We're the only family we have left." Then Jenna hesitated for a moment. "Do you think… Do you think you'll try and find your birth parents?"

Elena had been thinking about that all night. She'd even dreamt about it. In the dream, she was hugging two faceless people, crying. The ache inside her chest that she had felt when she found out her parents were dead softened ever so slightly. Then, the dream turned. The two people pushed Elena away. She fell to the ground and they disappeared, leaving her alone. She realised where they had left her. Wickery Bridge. The place where her parents had died. Where she had escaped death. And then Elena woke up.

Elena let out a shaky breath, not sure she could handle more heartache at the moment. "Now isn't the time," she told her aunt, simply.

Jenna nodded. "If you ever want to start looking, I'll do everything in my power to help you find them."

A smile graced Elena's face and the two dug back into their breakfast.

After breakfast, Elena still felt the need to talk about everything that had happened the day before. Stefan being a vampire. Damon. Her being adopted. Her doppelganger.

She called Caroline first but only received her voicemail. She tried Bonnie next and stifled a laugh at her best friend's grumpy tone.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"10 am," Elena replied. "I need a girl's day, ASAP. How about you, me, Caroline, Ben and Jerry, and Humphrey Bogart?"

"I'd love to, but I'm not sure about Caroline."

"Why?"

Bonnie sighed. Elena heard her shuffling around as if she was getting into a comfortable position to give the goss. "So, I picked her up from this party in Fell's Church last night. Took her to the Grill to sober up before I took her home. Went to the bathroom _for five minutes_ and when I came out she was gone!"

"Gone?"

"She sent me a text saying she met someone and was taking him home with her – apparently the Sherriff is spending another weekend at the office. Anyway, she sent me another text this morning saying we should go shopping tomorrow. She also said something about a weekend-long sex binge, but it was 7 am and I was still half asleep."

Elena laughed. Caroline was always putting herself out there and having fun. It was something Elena greatly admired about her friend. That, and the way she still kept a 4.0 GPA after a weekend of partying and sex binges, as she so eloquently put it.

"Okay then, how about we hang out tomorrow. I have so much to tell you and I want to tell you both together."

"So, I can go back to sleep?"

"Yes, you can go back to sleep."

Bonnie hung up after telling Elena she'd send her the details for their shopping trip that afternoon and Elena, with nothing else to do, opened Katherine's diary and continued where she left off earlier.

 ** _I can sense them both staring at me as I_** ** _write this. I'm lying on my stomach on a_** ** _picnic blanket under the shady oak by the_** ** _creek. From their vantage point, I'm sure_** ** _they have a wonderful view of my cleavage._** ** _I know I should not play with my food, but_** ** _Damon and Stefan are so much fun! I am_** ** _worried that I will never find toys as good_** ** _as them when it's time for me to move on._** ** _Nonetheless, I am going to take full_** ** _advantage of the love these two brothers_** ** _have more me._ _I wonder…_** ** _How far_ _would the Salvatore brothers go_** ** _to make me happy?_**

The more Elena read, the more she grew sick. Katherine's diary was vile. Not only had she openly admitted to raping Stefan by compelling him to sleep with her, but she wrote about purposefully ripping two brothers' apart, labelling them as food and playthings.

 _How far would the Salvatore brothers go to make me happy?_

Elena knew the answer. "They died for you, you selfish bitch."

* * *

At the boarding house, the brother's Elena felt so fiercely protective of were unleashing their own anger.

"Where have you been?" Stefan asked his brother as he swaggered into the boarding house. Zach had spoken to Stefan that morning, warning Stefan to reign Damon in before he went to the Council. Stefan knew his nephew wouldn't actually tell the Council (telling them about Stefan and Damon would mean telling them how he's known about them his whole life without giving them away). Regardless, he knew that he needed to reign Damon in.

But it was damn difficult when Damon tried everything he could to be a dick.

"Sorry, mom, did I forget to call?" Damon said in his usual drawl.

 _Maybe I need a new tactic._ "I told Elena everything."

Damon quirked an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, does everything entail."

"Everything," Stefan repeated. "Us being vampires. Katherine. All of it."

"Great. The Council should be knocking down our door any moment now with fire and pitchforks."

"Elena won't tell anyone. She was… strangely okay with everything." Stefan was still puzzled at Elena's reaction to his and Damon's story the night before. "Besides, it's you we should be worried about. Attacking Vicki Donovan? Not a good move, Damon."

"What can I say, I was hungry."

"You can't attack people, Damon. You'll get caught. You'll get us both caught."

"Didn't you hear? They caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing those campers and attacking that Vicki chick, it was a mountain lion! A really big one. It attacked a hunter this morning. It should all over the news soon enough. I can just see the headline: _Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls_. Or something equally as boring."

"Why would you cover your tracks?"

"You're right. If I keep killing the local's, people will get suspicious. Especially considering I've decided to stay a while." Damon revelled in Stefan's shocked expression. "And don't worry, Steffy, I went by the hospital on my way here and made sure our dear Vicki thinks it was an animal attack."

"Why are you here, Damon? Please, just tell me."

"But I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena." Stefan's face grew dark at Damon mentioning Elena's name. "Calm down, brother, I'm on a blonde diet at the moment. It's quite slimming, she puts me through a great workout if you catch my drift."

"You're compelling another girl?" Stefan was continuously disgusted by his brother's behaviour. "They're people, Damon. They aren't puppets. They don't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to."

"Sure, they do. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking." Damon stalked toward his brother as he spoke. "But don't worry, this one is compulsion free."

"What do you mean 'compulsion free'?"

"Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift. All she wanted in return was to ride the Salvatore train straight in pound town. Maybe you can have a go after I'm finished. Keeping it in the family _is_ our speciality."

"I know you want to make me suffer, but do you have to bring the town down with you?"

"It's just good to be home," Damon smirked. "This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"

"What are you up to, Damon?" Stefan had asked that question over and over again to no avail. Still, he tried.

"That's for me to know and for you to… dot dot dot." Damon chuckled darkly to himself. "I'm just picking up some fresh clothes before I head back to my new snack's place. I'll be sure to call you next time I'm out all night." The sarcasm was palpable. "Oh, and, give Elena my best. If she has any vampire questions – you know, from a _real_ vampire – tell her to give me a call."

The chair Stefan threw at Damon's head missed its target, but it felt good when it splintered against a wall and fell to the ground in pieces. He heard Lexi's voice in his head. _Control your emotions, don't let them control you._

Stefan poured himself a drink and tried to forget, just for a moment, about his older brother.


	7. Chapter 7

"So where did you go on Friday night?" Elena asked. Her, Caroline and Bonnie had been shopping all morning and were finally taking a break and grabbing an early lunch. "Bonnie said she came back from the bathroom and you had left."

"I met someone…" Caroline said, playing with her drinking straw coyly.

"In the five minutes she was in the bathroom? I'm impressed!"

"Me too," Bonnie chimed in. "But now you have to give us all the gossip!"

"I promised I wouldn't tell anyone," Caroline begun slyly. Then she laughed. "But what the heck, you two aren't going to out him, so I'll just say it. I spent the weekend with a vampire!"

Elena and Bonnie looked at their friend a little shocked. Caroline had a vampire fantasy stemming from a mild obsession with the Twilight Saga. The wish to wed and bed a vampire grew even dearer once Caroline found out the truth of their existence.

Elena never really liked those books and honestly never saw the appeal of vampires, until she met Damon. Now, she wanted Caroline to tell her everything.

Bonnie, while an eternal member of Team Jacob, was also curious about what the experience was like. "What happened? Where did it happen? Was it good? Did you let him drink your blood?" she asked in rapid succession.

"We went to my house because my mom was at the station all weekend, but when we arrived, he couldn't get through the front door. He tried to compel me to let him in and I laughed in his face."

"How did he take it?" Bonnie asked.

"Well, he was a bit shocked, of course. Then I told him that I would let him in, but only if we played by my rules. He didn't like that!"

"But you got him to change his mind?" Elena this time.

"I told him that I always wanted to be with a vampire and that I would allow him to drink from me – so long as he leave a mark or hurt me or anything."

"And you believed him?" Bonnie again.

"Not really, but that's what made it all the more fun – and boy was it fun! Let me tell you, the stamina of vampires is amazing! We went all night Friday. He went home briefly yesterday but came back in the afternoon and he didn't leave until this morning before I left to meet you two."

"Did you at least catch his name?"

"Damon." Caroline said it in a dreamy voice.

Elena repeated the name aloud, but her voice was cold and empty.

"Isn't it a great name? Very devilish," said Caroline, oblivious to her friend's distress.

"Damon Salvatore?" Elena's voice was low.

"Salvatore? As in Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Do you know him?" asked Caroline. _Please don't tell me Elena slept with him first!_

"He's Stefan's brother…" Elena took a deep breathe before adding, "And the guy I met at the end-of-year party. Right before the accident."

Bonnie looked between her two friends, anticipating a fight of some sort. Caroline was smiling on the inside, though she kept a straight face for Elena's sake. She felt guilty at her constant competitiveness with Elena, but Caroline couldn't help the happy feeling of having someone Elena wanted.

When no arguments came, Bonnie broke the silence. "So, when can we – well, me – when can I meet him?

Elena remained quiet, but Caroline wanted to learn more about Damon and Elena's relationship. "I know! We can all grab dinner tonight and you can meet him!" Caroline exclaimed. "Elena, you can bring Stefan…"

"Oh, Stefan and I are just—"

"—Whatever bring him. Damon is his brother, after all. Bonnie you can bring someone as well if you like. It'll be like a triple date!"

Bonnie laughed. "I won't be able to find a date by tonight but I'm happy to play fifth-wheel."

"I told you Stefan and I are just—"

"—Friends, we know, and we don't believe you. That boy has serious puppy eyes for you." Elena narrowed her eyes at Bonnie, expecting that comment from Caroline but not her.

"Speaking of, how was your 'history project' on Friday night," Caroline chimed in. "Get much studying done?"

 _Here we go._ Elena rolled her eyes. "We didn't, actually, but not for reasons you're thinking. Damon showed up and, well… they don't exactly get along."

"Ooh, drama," said Caroline, clapping her hands.

Bonnie's head shot up. "Wait! Is Stefan a vampire, too?"

Caroline gasped. _I didn't even think…_

Elena's face went red having accidentally told Stefan's secret. "Uh, yeah… I found out Friday night and, well, I wanted to talk to you two yesterday, but Care was with— Anyway, yes, Stefan is a vampire. He and Damon are actually the original Salvatore brothers from 1864. The ones on that plaque outside the old church."

"Damon is _that_ old?"

Bonnie laughed. "How old did you think he was?"

"I dunno, like 20 or something."

"He died when he was 22." Elena enjoyed the feeling of knowing more about Damon than Caroline did. _But she's seen him naked._ Elena ignored the thought and continued, "We better head off so I can let Stefan know he is apparently coming out with his brother tonight… and that I outed him…"

Caroline clapped her hands together, excited, and Bonnie began thinking of ways to get out of what was sure to be a _very_ awkward dinner.

* * *

Two hours later, Stefan took the news of Bonnie and Caroline knowing about his vampirism relatively well. Well, some of it, at least.

"I wish you told me first, Elena, but I guess I can't be mad when I shovelled through your family history for four months without your permission."

"Still, I'm sorry," Elena said. "Caroline and Bonnie won't out you to the Founder's Council. We're still underage, so they don't involve us much anyway. They'll like you regardless of your pointy canines."

Stefan laughed. He loved hanging out with Elena and was interested to meet her friends. Caroline was a Forbes making her a Founders kid. Stefan didn't remember much about the original Forbes other than them being a stoic and strict family. Bonnie, on the other hand, was a Bennett. He wondered if she was related to Katherine's slave, Emily Bennett, who had been a powerful witch. Emily disappeared not long after he and Damon transitioned and he didn't blame her. With Katherine dead, she was free, and she had been young enough to start a family. As Stefan was thinking, he noticed Elena fidgeting with the hem of her skirt as she sat on the bar stool at his kitchen bench.

"Is there more?"

Elena let out a sigh. "Caroline is seeing someone and has invited him tonight."

Stefan looked at Elena carefully. "And this is bad?"

"It's not bad, really… Okay, yes, it's bad... It's just… Well, it's just she's seeing Damon."

"Damon?" Stefan choked. "How? Why? Does she know he's a vampire?"

Elena nodded. "She knows and she doesn't care. She has a vampire fantasy." Stefan's eyes widened but he let Elena go on. "They met on Friday night after he left the boarding house and have apparently been going at it all weekend." Elena hated the bitterness evident in her voice.

"And you want to go to dinner with her and Damon? Even though you are obviously hurt?"

Elena looked up at him. "That's why I need you there," she pleaded. "I love Caroline and I want her to be happy, but obviously I'm jealous, and—"

"You want me to make Damon jealous?"

"No!" Elena cried. "I would never do that to you, Stefan. I just need some support. Bonnie is always careful to not take sides and Caroline knows how Damon and I met and won't hesitate to rub in it my face that she has him."

"Why are you friends with Caroline, then?"

"She's my best friend," Elena said, simply. "We've always had this… competitiveness. Yes, sometimes it gets petty, but we grew up together. She's always been there for me. Care and her mom took Jeremy and I in while Jenna organised our parent's funeral. And when Matt told her that he liked me in freshman year, she pushed her feelings for him aside and set us up on a date." Elena sighed thinking about her friend. "The truth of the matter is, at the end of the day, if I was sick or injured or if I just needed a shoulder to cry on, Caroline would be there in a heartbeat. I don't want anything to come between Caroline and me – not even Damon."

Stefan looked at Elena with sadness in his eyes. He and Damon used to be that way. _Before_. "Of course, I'll be there," he said.

Later, as they approached the door of the Grill, Stefan heard Damon's voice, muffled only slightly by the noise of the other patrons. "Tell me why I'm doing this again, Blondie?"

"Because I give you sex and blood and in return, you act as my arm-candy."

"You only want me for my looks?" Damon asked in mock-hurt.

"Yes," Caroline giggled just as Elena opened the door and led the way inside.

Inside the Grill, Elena noticed Caroline right away.

She had changed her outfit from the casual jeans she was wearing that morning to one of the cute, long-sleeved dresses she had bought today. A vintage summer scarf was tied around her neck. This struck Elena as odd. Caroline never seemed liked a scarf person before. Caroline waved enthusiastically at her friend, but Damon seemed shocked that Elena was there.

"Elena's your friend?" he asked as Elena and Stefan took the booth-seat opposite Caroline and Damon.

"Hey, Damon," Elena said softly.

"Is this some sick double-date with you and my brother?" For some reason, the idea didn't sit well with Damon. _Because she looks like Katherine._

Stefan scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. Elena invited me, and I wanted to meet her friends. Speaking of, where's Bonnie?"

"She texted me to say something came up with her Grams. She's okay, just another slip in the bath, I think."

Elena nodded, hoping Grams was okay for Bonnie's sake. The woman was getting older now and she was the only stable guardian Bonnie had in her life. "Just us then." _Not awkward at all,_ she added internally.

An uncomfortable silence came over the group before Stefan engaged Caroline in conversation. He was interested in getting to know the girl Elena had described earlier. Meanwhile, Elena kept throwing glances in Damon's direction which he tried to avoid. He would occasionally catch her glances but always looked away too fast.

When their food arrived, Caroline said, "So, what's it like being a vampire?"

Damon smirked. "Why? Looking to change species?"

Stefan scowled. "It's not it's cracked up to be."

"That's because my dear brother here survives off furry woodland creatures and denies who he truly is."

"Don't start, Damon."

"I'm just saying, a _real_ vampire—"

"Stefan is as real a vampire as you are," Elena spoke up. The other three at the table looked at her, surprised. "Just because Stefan feels guilty about hurting people, doesn't make him weak."

"No, eating subpar meals makes him weak."

"Why do you torment him so much? Is it _really_ because of Katherine or because you also hate being a vampire but you're too weak to end it yourself?"

Elena was shocked at her own words and regretted them immediately. Damon looked murderous. Caroline asked, "Who's Katherine?"

Elena felt her cheeks warm up and she found it hard to breathe. "I need to pee," she blurted out and ran for the women's room. Caroline was hot on her tail.

"What was that?" Caroline asked. She could see that Elena was upset and felt guilt over suggesting this dinner.

"Never mind. I'm sorry, I'm ruining your night."

Caroline pulled Elena in for a hug. "You're not ruining the night. I'm glad I got the chance to get to know Stefan more. You've been kind of keeping him to yourself lately." Then she lowered her voice in a whisper. "He's as hot up close as he is from the back of chemistry class."

Elena laughed and hugged Caroline back. "You know they can still hear you." She felt Caroline shrug, and with that action, Elena saw the beginning of a bruise peeking out from the neckline of her friend's dress. _No, Damon wouldn't hurt her, would he?_

Elena pulled back and pulled Caroline's neckline across to get a better look.

"Hey!" Caroline cried.

"Did he do this to you?" Elena was getting angry. _How could I be attracted to him? That disgusting abuser!_

"I told you, he never did anything I didn't want him to do."

"That bruise wasn't there this morning. And what's with the scarf?" Elena tugged on the scarf only to find further bruises and more than one bite mark on her friend's neck. "Don't tell me those are all love bites!"

Caroline snatched her scarf back and tied it back around her neck. "It's none of your business what goes on in my bedroom, Elena!"

"What are you doing, Caroline? Do you even realise what's happening?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Yes, Elena, I do. He usually gives me blood to cover it up, but we were running late getting here so–"

"Do you even hear yourself?"

"Do you hear _yourself_?" Caroline snapped back. "You're acting like a jealous girlfriend, Elena. Well, newsflash: Damon isn't your boyfriend. He's mine." Elena went to speak, but Caroline held a hand up to stop her. "For once in your life, I have something that you want and you can't have it! For once Princess Elena Gilbert is second to Caroline Forbes – and you can't handle it!"

"Caroline—"

"No," Caroline continued. "I want him, Elena. I know where I stand with Damon – this is just about blood and sex, but he chose to have this experience with me. He _chose_ me! Just this once, I want to enjoy the feeling of being wanted without you taking it away from me like you have everything else."

Elena looked at her friend. Caroline was right. She was jealous. Not only that, but Caroline was also right about everything else, too. Caroline had liked Matt freshman year, but Matt was in love with Elena. She wanted Stefan when he had started at Mystic Falls High but Stefan's attention was focused on Elena. Caroline was smarter than Elena, yet their teachers called on Elena more than they did Caroline. Even Caroline's mother doted on Elena when she visited, all the while ignoring Caroline whenever something work-related came up. Damon was the first person to ever focus his attention on Caroline and only Caroline. Yes, Elena met him first, but she wasn't who he wanted. He'd literally run away from her only a few days ago. By holding onto someone who obviously wasn't into her, Elena was doing the one thing she told Stefan she wouldn't do: she was letting Damon come between her friendship with Caroline, the one person who had been there for her since, well, since forever.

Caroline turned to face the mirror and straightened herself up. She caught Elena's eye in the reflection. "I know better than to fall in love with him, Elena," Caroline said softer this time. "I know he isn't my Edward Cullen. But just this once, let me have this. Please."

Elena looked at her friend and tried her best to push down her jealousy. She wasn't about to lose her best friend over a boy, no matter what Elena felt for him. "I'm sorry, Caroline" she relented. "You're right. You can look after yourself." Elena pulled her friend into a bone-crushing hug. "And if you ever need me, for anything, I'm here for you."

"That's all I need." Caroline returned Elena's hug. "Now, tell me. Who is Katherine?"


	8. Chapter 8

Elena had spent the last week pretending that she was okay that Caroline and Damon were together. Part of her was happy for her friend. The pair sat on the other side of the Grill from where Elena and Bonnie sat. Caroline was drinking a milkshake and Damon was sitting lazily across from her, playing with her wrist.

Every now and then, Damon would look over Caroline's shoulder and stare right at Elena. Whenever she stared back, he did this thing where his eyes would narrow and turn dark and, were it not for the vervain on her wrist, she would have thought he was compelling her. Only, instead of compelling her to _do_ , it was as if he was compelling her to _feel_.

And, boy, did she feel. Lust and annoyance and anger and frustration. Elena felt utterly consumed.

 _A love that consumes you._

Elena shook the memory from her mind and turned her attention back to Bonnie who was telling Elena about the new spells her Gams was teaching her.

"She's still teaching me smaller spells, but she said that soon we can try a full moon spell."

"Full moon spell?"

Bonnie nodded excitedly. "It's where we harvest the power of the full moon and channel that power into a talisman for when need an extra energy boost."

"What will your talisman be?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I was hoping to find a necklace or something that belong to my mom, but my dad threw a lot of her things away when she… left."

Elena gave Bonnie a sympathetic look. In part, Elena felt that her and Bonnie had grown closer since the death of her parents. Though Bonnie's mom hadn't died, she had left and after fifteen years, it was unlikely that she would be returning any time soon.

"Sorry for being a downer," Bonnie said, jolting herself from her sadness. "I should be going anyway. I have a chem test to study for."

"I'll see you tonight, right? At the Founders' party?" Elena asked.

"Of course," Bonnie confirmed. "You're still my date remember!"

Elena laughed. "Definitely! Oh, do you mind if Stefan tags along?"

Bonnie groaned. "I hate being the third wheel."

"I told you, Stefan and I are—"

"Yeah, yeah," Bonnie waved off. "But you can't deny that he likes you."

"I'll see you tonight," Elena huffed. Bonnie hugged her friend goodbye. When she looked over her friend's shoulder, Elena spotted her brother and Vicki talking in a dark corner.

Vicki caressed Jeremy cheek softly and pulled him in for a quick kiss. When Jeremy slipped a small packet into Vicki's hand, Elena saw red. Vicki looked around the room briefly as she pocketed whatever Jeremy had just given her into her waitresses' apron. She gave him another quick peck on the lips and snuck into the kitchen to resume, Elena presumed, her work.

When Bonnie left, Elena stormed over to her brother. Jeremy turned around onto to see his sister standing in his face. _She's always hovering._

"So that's your game now?" Elena whispered harshly. She wanted to yell but thought it was best not to cause a scene. "You're dealing?"

"I'm not dealing."

"Look, I'm sick of the tough-love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact," she sighed.

"You and Jenna, between the two of you—"

"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it, or to rehab where you'll sit in a group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me."

"I vote for none of the above."

Jeremy went to walk away but Elena grabbed hold of his arm and forced him to stop. "You know she's only with you for the drugs, right?"

Jeremy gave her a murderous look. "Because someone couldn't love me for me, right?"

Elena scoffed. "You think this is love? This isn't love, Jer, this is addiction. You're obsessed with her and she's obsessed with the drugs you give her."

"You don't know Vicki like I do."

"I've seen her blow a dude for a joint and I've held her hair back while Matt has forced her to vomit the drugs from her system because they couldn't afford medical insurance. I was with Matt for two years and all I could do was watch Vicki self-destruct. I tried to help her. Everyone did. I hope that one day, Vicki gets back on track. Until then, supplying her with drugs is only going to keep her on the same track, and you're pulling yourself down with her."

Jeremy remained quiet through another one of his sister's lectures. "I love her, Elena. I feel alive when I'm with her. She makes me forget about losing mom and dad…"

"You can't forget them, Jer. That isn't living. We need to remember them. We need to remember everything they ever taught us and every time they told us that they loved us or held us when we cried."

Elena felt moisture pool in her eyes. Jeremy felt his own eyes water, too. Elena took her brother's hand in hers and held it tight.

"Next time you think about giving Vicki drugs, just do me a favour, okay? Tell her no. Try and be with her without the fog and, when it clears, see if you still fit."

Jeremy remained stoic on the surface, but inside he was afraid. Afraid of letting in the pain of losing his parents, of truly grieving them. But more than that, he was afraid of losing Vicki, of losing someone else he cared about.

Elena let go of Jeremy's hand. "No matter what, I love you, Jer. You can continue to push me away, but I will always be there for you, whether you like it or not." She pulled Jeremy into a quick hug before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

As Elena left the Grill, the emotions that Jeremy had been suppressing slowly began to creep forth. He sat in a booth at the Grill when his sister's ex, Matt Donovan, brought over the fries he ordered.

Jeremy gave Matt a short nod in thanks. Things had been weird between them since Matt and Elena broke up. Things got even weirder when Matt caught Jeremy with his sister, Vicki, stoned and making out in her bedroom over the summer. Matt, of course, had gone straight to Elena and she'd been riding his case ever since.

"How've you been, Jere?" Matt asked in an attempt to bridge the gap that had grown between the two. He'd always seen Jeremy as a little brother. Seeing his downward spiral was almost as bad as seeing Vicki's.

"I'm fine, Donovan."

"It's 'Donovan' now?"

"Oh, sorry," Jeremy said, sarcastically. "Am I supposed to be polite to traitors?"

Matt sighed. "I was only look out for you, Jere. I _am_ looking out for you. You're a good kid, you don't have to keep doing this to yourself."

"You can cut the big brother act. My sister dumped your ass, remember."

"We've been friends longer than Elena and I dated. I'm always gonna be there for you, man."

"I don't want you to be there for me." _I want my parents._

"Look, I know what you're going through—"

"No, you don't." Jeremy's voice took on a hardened edge. "Just because your parents left you and Vicki alone to fend for yourselves doesn't mean you understand me, got it. My parents can't come back. Yours can. They just don't want to."

Anger swirled within Matt. _This is Elena's brother. Little Gilbert. He doesn't mean what he's saying._

Instead of lashing out, Matt instead asked, "Are you high right now?"

Jeremy rolled his eyes and deflected the question. "Just leave me alone, okay. Everyone should just leave me alone."

The two boys looked at each other with anger, though Matt couldn't help feel sadness at the man Jeremy was becoming. The two were silent for a few more seconds before Matt turned and walked back to the kitchens. Jeremy watch him walk away, catching sight of Vicki in the process as she filled Tyler Lockwood's empty glass in the booth in front of Jeremy's.

"Hey, you."

"Oh, your parents are gone. I guess we can be close now."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Every time I came to your table today, you treated me like a pariah," Vicki said in a low voice. "You treat me like trash and I'm sick of it."

"I don't think you're trash."

"Really? Then who are you taking to the Founders' party?"

"Vicki Donovan," Tyler said, grinning a secret smile. "Do you want me to ask you to the Founders' party?"

"No." A similar smile appeared on Vicki's own face. "It'll be stupid and lame."

"True," Tyler said, his hand reaching out to grab hers. "But it'll be less stupid and lame if you were there."

Jeremy couldn't help rolling his eyes at the conversation he was overhearing, though part of him was admittedly jealous. _We aren't exclusive. She can date whoever she wants. It's still my bed she ends up in at the end of the night._

Still, Jeremy continued to watch on as Tyler picked up his check, gave Vicki a kiss on the cheek, and left the Grill—and he wondered whether Elena might be right.

* * *

Later that night, at the Founders' ball, Carol Lockwood greeted Caroline at the door of the Lockwood mansion.

"Caroline!" she exclaimed. "You look smashing."

"Thank you, Mrs Lockwood. This is my boyfriend Damon."

"Oh, well, come on in."

Damon smirked as he stepped over the threshold of the Lockwood house. _I haven't been here since George Lockwood's welcome home party in '62._ "Lovely to meet you. I've been looking forward to this party for quite a while.

"Well, enjoy," Mrs Lockwood grinned.

Damon shot her a smirk and his eyes grew devilish as the older women gasped quietly. _Too bad she's on vervain,_ Damon thought to himself. _I wouldn't mind taking her for a test drive._

Caroline pulled Damon into the Lockwood mansion, quietly asking Damon to sneak her a drink from the open bar. As they walked through the archway that led from the foyer into the living room, Damon and Caroline heard a short, sharp cough from behind them.

When Sherriff Forbes came into view, she eyed Damon suspiciously. "You aren't thinking of supplying my underage daughter with alcohol are you?"

"Of course not, Sherriff. Care-bear was only kidding."

Caroline shot Damon a bizarre look. _Care-bear?_

"I'm Damon by the way." He held out a hand to the Sherriff.

Sherriff Forbes ignored Damon's greeting and said, "And just how old are you, Damon."

"Twenty-two ma'am."

Caroline held back a laugh.

"You're a little old for her, don't you think?

"Oh, 'cause otherwise you'd approve," Caroline hissed. "Yeah, I doubt that."

"I'm aware ma'am. Though she is wise beyond her years."

Caroline was sure that was the first time he'd complimented her on something other than her looks. She glanced up at him. He was looking down at her with soft eyes – a look she had never seen before. For a moment, Caroline smiled.

"Will you be drinking tonight, Damon?"

"No, ma'am, I'm driving. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Caroline."

Caroline smile turned into an almost Damon-esque smirk as she thought of all the things Damon had done to her that went against that statement. The spankings, the riding crop, the suspension swing. And that was only that morning.

"Mom, please stop interrogating my date."

The Sherriff's eyes never left Damon's. "I expect to see my daughter in bed by midnight. _Alone_."

"Of course, Sherriff," Damon said as his hand lingered above Caroline's ass, promisingly. "For now, however, I have a huge cheque to give to the mayor on behalf of the Salvatore family. My uncle Zach sends his apologies for not being able to make it." _Well, at least he seemed sorry when I threatened him into taking an extended vacation because he pissed me off._

Sherriff Forbes' eyebrows raised. "Yes, I think I remember Zach saying his nephews were in town. I don't remember him mentioning you _before_ you came to town though."

Damon caught onto the Sherriff's suspiciousness. "He mentioned you were having… an animal problem. He thought I could help."

"You are familiar with… animals?"

"I have experience hunting large game."

The Sherriff's eyes didn't grow less suspicious, but she extended a hand to Damon. "Maybe we can chat about your hunting experience later this week. Come to the station on Monday."

Damon shook the Sherriff's hand. "Will do, ma'am."

Caroline watched the back and forth between her boyfriend and her mother, still amazed at Damon's charisma even without using compulsion.

"We should mingle," Caroline interjected. "Oh, look, I see Elena and Stefan over there!"

Damon's eyes immediately looked around the room, landing on Elena standing far too close too close to his brother. Bonnie stood awkwardly next to the two as they talked rapidly.

"Yes, please excuse us, Sherriff," Damon said, saying a quick goodbye to his new ally. As he and Caroline approached her friends, Damon tuned in on Elena and Stefan's conversation.

"'The founding families in Mystic Falls welcomes you to the inaugural founder's council celebration.' Wow, look, it's the original guest registry. Look at all these familiar names—Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood. Is that Damon Salvatore? And, Stefan Salvatore?"

"Ahh, yes. Remember this day, Stefan? You were what? Fifteen? All pimply and gangly. Not much has changed, really."

"Damon." Stefan's greeting was short and curt. He didn't even turn around to look his brother in the eye.

"I, of course, was the handsome older brother. Father got so mad when I snuck into the stables with Astoria Appleby."

Elena didn't turn around for an entirely different reason. The hairs on her neck stood on edge and goosebumps erupted on her forearms. She wasn't sure how far behind her Damon was standing but she swore she could feel the warmth of his body heat.

Bonnie, sensing the lingering tension, excused herself to get a drink and silently slipped away.

"Your sexual exploits have always bored me, Damon," Stefan said, turning around. Elena followed his lead.

"Not all of them," Damon winked. "I know how mad you got when it was Katherine I snuck into the stables with at the Founders party in 1964."

Caroline huffed. Elena had told her about Damon and Stefan's shared ex. "I'm growing bored of this conversation as well. Damon, come and dance with me."

"I don't dance."

"Come on, please," Caroline whined. Elena laughed at her friends begging, a laughter that was cut short when she saw the hooded stare Damon was giving her.

"Elena, can I borrow your date?"

"Oh, uh..." Elena stumbled, her eyes never leaving Damon's.

"I don't really dance," Stefan replied, awkwardly noticing the exchange between his brother and Elena. Caroline, however, seemed oblivious.

"Oh, sure he does," Damon interjected. "You should see him. Waltz, the jitterbug, the moonwalk. He does it all."

"You wouldn't mind, would you, Elena?"

"It's up to Stefan."

"Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer," Caroline tittered as she grabbed Stefan's hand and led him to the dance floor.

"I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk the other day," Damon said once Caroline and Stefan had gone. "If I had a therapist, I'm sure they'd say I'm...Acting out, trying to punish Stefan."

"For what? Loving Katherine?"

Damon scoffed. There was a moment of silence before Damon saw the cufflinks that had once belonged to him. The Salvatore crest had been stamped into the metal. They were the only gift his father had given him that didn't come with a list of reasons why Stefan was the better son.

"You know, the Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town back then. Until the war. There was a battle here—"

"The Battle of Willow Creek," Elena interjected, remembering the history project she and Stefan had worked on about the Civil War. "Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

"What the history books left out was the people that were killed. They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive. Someone I loved very much was in that church."

"They weren't really Union sympathisers, were they?"

"No." There was a soft, almost sad tilt to Damon's voice. "When we went to rescue her, we were shot. Murdered in cold blood."

Elena felt a twist in her gut. _Of course, it always comes back to Katherine_.

"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. I just...I hope you two can work it out."

Damon didn't have the chance to reply before Caroline and Stefan returned to the group.

"What'd we miss?" Caroline asked.

"We were just chatting," Elena said. She smiled at her friend, though part of her was angry at the interruption.

"Do you want to dance, Elena?" Stefan asked.

Elena looked at Damon. He refused to meet her eye. He took a step back from Elena and wrapped an arm around Caroline's waist. Elena's eyes lingered on the arm, seething as Caroline leaned into Damon's side. Green jealousy boiled within her but, instead of letting the pot overflow, Elena took Stefan's outstretched hand and replied, "Absolutely."

"They look so cute together," Caroline whispered as she watched Stefan and Elena walk to the dance floor.

"Stop talking," Damon said, pulling away from Caroline. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Caroline asked.

Damon ignored her and walked further into the house. He found the winding staircase that had hardly changed in a century. Caroline followed quietly behind.

"That wasn't an invitation to follow me," he said.

"Then tell me where you're going."

 _Maybe it's a good thing she followed me. If we get caught, it'll look as if we stole away for a private moment._ "Okay, I'm looking for something," Damon conceded.

Damon didn't stop when they reached the top of the stairs. He quickly walked down the long corridor and into a room near the end. The door opened with ease and Damon and Caroline slipped in quietly.

Damon walked straight over to a music box sitting on a dresser. The box looked old and dusty.

"Um, I don't think you're supposed to touch…"

Ignoring Caroline, Damon picked up the box and pressed a finger into the base. Caroline heard a soft _click_ and a side compartment opened. Caroline drew closer, seeing a yellow stone sitting in the compartment.

"What is that?"

"A very important crystal," Damon said.

"How did you know that it was there?"

"Because I put it there."

"When?"

"A long time ago."

"What's it for?"

"Never you mind."

"Well, you can't just steal it."

"It's not stealing if it's mine."

Damon put the crystal in Caroline's palm. It felt heavy and warm as if it were alive.

"Can I trust you to keep this safe for a little while?" Damon asked.

Caroline wasn't sure what the crystal was or what it meant. She wasn't even bothered with Damon's abrasive attitude toward her, even though part of her knew she should be. At that moment, Damon was asking for Caroline's help. He needed her for something other than blood and sex. That was all that mattered when Caroline replied with a breathy voice.

"Of course, you can."


	9. Chapter 9

Alaric Saltzman's eyes were wide with shock, his cheeks flush with embarrassment. Elena was sure that she wore a similar expression.

"I just needed a glass of water."

"So did I."

The two stood awkwardly in the Gilbert kitchen, Alaric in boxer briefs and a collared shirt and Elena in her pink and blue kitten pyjamas.

"I'm just gonna…" Alaric pointed to the stairs, his eyes downcast.

"Yeah, goodnight Mr Saltzman."

"I think we've moved passed Mr Saltzman, Elena. You can call me, Ric."

"I'll call you Ric if I never have to see you in my kitchen in just your underwear again."

"Deal," Ric laughed as he ran up the stairs, taking them two a time. He's face was still red and his breath was laboured with exertion.

"That was fast," Jenna said as Ric climbed back into her bed.

"I ran into Elena."

Jenna laughed. "Wearing that? The poor girl must be traumatised."

Ric leaned over, covering Jenna's body with his. "Traumatised? I'll have you know I overheard a couple of students say I have the best dad bod at Mystic Falls High School."

"Teenagers have no taste," Jenna giggled, bringing Ric down for a kiss. "You're so good with them, you know."

"I'm a teacher. If I didn't know how to handle teenagers, I would have chosen a different profession."

"You know what I mean." Jenna sighed. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time."

"You're a great guardian, Jenna."

Jenna quirked an eyebrow. "My niece may have to go to therapy from seeing my boyfriend in his underwear and my nephew is a junkie."

"Jeremy's not a junkie. He's grieving. He'll grow out of it.."

"Did you smoke your life away when Isobel died?"

Ric froze.

"Shit, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's okay," Ric said, sitting up with his back against the head of Jenna's bed. "Losing someone you love so suddenly, the, uh—the trauma and the grief there are some of the tougher things he'll face in life."

"Is it ok to talk about your wife?"

"There's not much to talk about. She died. I moved here to take care of her sick mother. She died too. I met you. The end."

"Do you miss her?"

"I miss her all the time," Ric admitted. He knew better than to be dishonest with Jenna. "When she died, I knew that moving here and taking care of Elia was what she would have wanted."

"She lived in Fell's Church, right?"

"Yeah, not far from the old church. Elia was a single mother, Isobel was all she had. Her pain-killer addiction grew worse after Isobel's death."

"It's crazy to think that I might have known known your wife when she was a kid. Fell's Church and Mystic Falls are virtually the same town, we're so close together."

Ric smiled sadly. "Maybe. I think she would have liked you."

"You don't talk about her often."

"It's just hard, I guess."

"You can talk about her, you know," Jenna said. "She was your wife. A huge part of your life."

"Well," Ric began. "She was smart. I think I told you she was doing her PhD on paranormal creatures. She had a fascination with vampires, witches, doppelgangers. Sometimes she'd bring her work home. Sometimes she'd sleep in her office at the University…"

"Wasn't that where they found her?"

A heavy lump grew in Ric's throat. "Yeah. Two years ago next month. They said she had all the blood drained out of her, bite marks in her neck. They said it was an animal attack."

"But you're certain it was a vampire?"

"You know as well I do that they exist."

"Is she buried in Fell's Church?"

Ric nodded. "I buried Elia next to her when she passed last year. I haven't gone back to visit them since."

"Would… would you be okay if I joined you when you visit them next?"

Ric smirked. "You want me to introduce you to my dead wife and mother-in-law?"

Jenna shrugged. "They were the only family you had."

"And now I have you."

Jenna leaned up to kiss Ric's lips. "So… will you take me to meet them?"

"Yes," Ric said, kissing Jenna sweetly again. "Not now, but… one day. When it's easier."

"Of course," said Jenna, knowing it will never really be _easier_. She knew as well as anybody who had gone through what they had. Jenna knew that Isobel would always have part of Ric's heart. She was his past, but Jenna was his future. She was certain about that. All she could do was be patient. "Whenever you're ready.

* * *

The next morning, still reeling from her interaction with her history teacher, Elena went over to the boarding house to see Stefan. She had read Katherine's journals back to front and the more she read, the more she loathed Katherine.

Without pretence, Elena opened the large oak door and walked into the boarding house, calling Stefan's name.

"You don't knock?"

Elena jumped at Damon's sudden appearance. "Is Stefan in?" she asked.

"No 'Hello, Damon, you look ruggedly handsome this morning'?"

The shock of seeing Damon quickly wore off, though his presence still affected her. He looked at her with dark eyes and she wondered what the fire within them meant. Did he find her as attractive as she found him, or did he still only see Katherine looking back at him? Elena decided to put her thoughts to the test.

"Hello, Damon," she said, putting her bag on the hook by the door. She walked toward the vampire as he leaned against the archway that led to the kitchen. "You look ruggedly handsome this morning."

Damon stood up straight, a look of confusion crossing his features. The fire in his eyes remained. "Stefan's out catching breakfast."

"Mind if I wait here?" Without waiting for an answer, Elena walked by Damon, making sure to brush her arm against his. "This is your living room?"

Damon followed closely behind Elena. "Living room. Parlour. Sotheby's auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I'm surprised you didn't see it last time you were here."

"No, Stefan and I went straight to his room."

"What, no foreplay?"

"It isn't like that between Stefan and I. We're friends." Elena hating having to defend her and Stefan's friendship. "Men and women can be friends, you know."

"Yes, but we both know my brother wants you..."

Elena grew uncomfortable. She suspected Stefan's feelings for her stretched further than friendship, but she had made her feelings clear. _I won't lead him on or hurt him._ "I'm not Katherine."

"What does Katherine have to do with you and Stefan?"

"Nothing…"

"What is it?"

"What's what?"

"Don't act like a child, Elena. You're doing that thing women do where they say one thing but mean another."

"Men do that too, you know."

"Yes, like Stefan. We all know Stefan acts like a woman."

"Why? Because he shows emotion. You might like to try that for a change."

"I'm not weak."

"Showing emotion isn't weak. _Women_ aren't weak! I know you grew up in the nineteenth century but in this era, sexism is frowned upon."

The only sound in the room after that was Elena's laboured breath. It washed across Damon's face as he glared down at her. It was then that he realised how close they were standing. _How does this always happen? It's like we gravitate toward each other…_

Damon took a step back. "Are you going to tell me what's really wrong?"

Elena continued to glare at Damon, though her breath had begun to calm. Damon looked on curiously as Elena took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Do you… Who do you see when you look at me?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do you see _me_? Or do you see _her_?"

A guarded expression crossed Damon's face and the fire in his eyes grew cold.

Selfishly, Elena continued. "Is that why you're with Caroline? Because being with me would be too hard when I look just like Katherine?"

"Stop talking about Katherine. You know nothing about her."

"I read her journals. Stefan kept them. She wasn't a nice person, Damon."

"I know."

"I – Wait, what?"

"I know she wasn't nice. She never pretended to be nice. She was real. What we had was _real_."

"Do you know what she did to your brother? Forcing him to sleep with her. I don't what they called that in 1964, Damon, but I call that rape."

"Stefan is the one that pursued her. Everywhere we went, Stefan was there too. He never gave us room to breathe."

"She was compelling him to keep him close."

"And how do you know? Because of some diaries that Stefan coughed up. You have some real credible sources there, Elena."

"He's my friend and he's still hurting. All he ever wanted was his big brother and here you are treating him like a pariah."

"It's about time Stefan knew what it's like to not always get what he wants."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Damon stayed silent while his mind reeled. _Everyone always chose Stefan. Our father. Our friends. Katherine. But I'm going to be the one to save her. Then she'll want me and only me. Forever._

Instead of sharing his thoughts with Elena, Damon changed the subject. "You want to know why I'm with Caroline? She was hot and willing." _And she wanted me. Not Stefan. Me._

"She's my best friend, Damon. She's not some toy you can play with and throw away."

"She's a big girl, she knows what she's doing." _Very well, in fact._

"She's seventeen, Damon. She's not even an adult yet."

"She's armed with vervain, she has a (for some reason) bedazzled stake under her bed, and her mother's a vampire-slaying Sherriff. I'm hungry and horny, not suicidal."

"Why her? You could have found someone easier to screw." _You could have had me!_ "Why did you choose my friend?"

"Not everything is about you, Princess," Damon drawled. "I just realised killing too many townspeople would get me staked so I ordered Meals-In-Heels. Besides, getting Caroline was easy, even without compulsion. Do you know how insecure she is whenever your name is brought up in conversation? All I had to do was smile and call her pretty and she dropped her panties immediately."

"You're vulgar."

"No, sweetheart, I'm a vampire. That image you concocted of me in your pretty little head? Get rid of it. I'm not the good guy, Elena."

"I don't want you to be the good guy, I just want you!"

For a full minute, all that could be heard was Elena's laboured breath.

Then Damon replied in a slow, dark voice. "And at the end of the day, all I want is Katherine. Unless you want to roleplay, I guess neither of us is getting what we want anytime soon."

"Why are you even here, Damon?" asked Elena, growing weary. "To make Stefan's life miserable? Are you that sad in your own life that you need to impose in your brother's?"

"Why do you care, Elena. We spoke for two, three minutes tops. _Months ago_. What was so special about me? About that night? Huh? Is your pathetic high school crush that deep that you can't leave me the fuck alone?"

"That was the night my parents died," whispered Elena.

For once in his life, Damon Salvatore was speechless.

The ache Elena felt at the absence of her parents grew within her chest, and she let out a shaky breath to calm her emotions. In a soft, confident voice, Elena continued. "You were the last person I spoke to before I got into that car. You were the last thought I had that car when over the side of Wickery Bridge.

"When I woke up after the accident, I was destroyed. I blamed myself. I wallowed in the guilt, let it consume me. Slowly, my memories of that night came back to me. All of it was a blur, like it happened to someone else and not me. All of it – except for when I met you."

Damon looked at her wide-eyed as she spoke.

"I remember that moment vividly. How you appeared out of nowhere. How you called me Katherine. How you looked into my eyes – a stranger's eyes – and knew exactly what I needed."

"I don't understand," Damon said.

"It was that memory that made me fight the darkness that threatened to consume me. My parents... they wouldn't have wanted me to wallow in guilt. They would have wanted me to live life to fullest. They would have wanted all of that for me—the passion and adventure."

Damon smirked. "Even the danger?"

The tension that was like iron in the air began to dissipate slowly and lightness filled the room when Elena laughed gently.

"Maybe not too much danger," she admitted. "But they would have wanted me to take risks. And I want to take a risk, Damon. I want to take a risk on you."

Damon looked at her perplexed. "Why?"

"Because I see myself in you."

"I'm sorry," Damon said. "I know what it's like to lose people you love and… I'm sorry."

Elena held back a smile. _This is him,_ she thought. _This is the Damon I met. The one that feels so much he doesn't know what to do with it. This is the Damon I love._

 _Love._ The word bounced around in her head, but she didn't voice it. Damon was ready for that word – for her – just yet.

Damon continued to look at Elena with intense eyes as if he were trying to compel some secret truth from her. "I'm not good, Elena."

Elena placed her hand on his arm. "I never asked you to be."


	10. Chapter 10

Elena hadn't seen much of Damon since their time at the boarding house. Stefan, since hearing about the talk between Damon and his friend, had been hovering. His worry for Elena and her safety had driven Elena to the one thing she hated more than anything: lying.

With the help of Caroline and Bonnie, everyone in Mystic Falls believed Elena had gone on a shopping trip with her best friends. It was true that Caroline and Bonnie had gone out for the day, but Elena had something different planned.

Her pounded as she drove along the neatly paved driveway, her eyes lingering on the white weatherboards of her family's lakeside vacation home. Only an hour's drive from Mystic Falls, the lake house sat quiet and lonesome.

 _I haven't been here since before they died,_ Elena said. She remembered her mother only days before her death telling making plans to vacation at the lake house during the summer. A tear slid down Elena's cheek as she realised she would never vacation here with her parents again.

Getting out of her car, Elena walked up to the door of the lake house and unlocked the door. It was made from a light wood that felt cool beneath her fingertips. Elena knew the weather was probably to blame, with a hint of a chill coming up from the lake, but Elena doubted the lake house would ever again generate the warmth it once had.

When the door opened, Elena could almost hear her mother banging around in the kitchen and her dad and Jeremy playing video games in the living room while Elena sat across from them, writing in her journal. Elena lingered in the doorway for a moment, taking in the bittersweet memories that she'd once thought mundane.

The musty smell of the lake house propelled Elena inside. She set her bag down by the door and started opening the windows. Elena then went upstairs to the where the bedrooms were. She smiled sadly as she remembered the countless times her parents had told her and Jeremy to not to run on the stairs. One year, Jeremy fell and strained his wrist which put a hold on the running a whole three days.

Jeremy's bedroom was the first one she saw when she reached the top of the stairs. His name was on the door in wood-block lettering that he'd painted green and decorated with dinosaur stickers when he was five years old. Elena remembered that year vividly because she'd tried to help Jeremy after painting her own wood-block name pink. Jeremy had gotten frustrated at her, telling her that he was a 'big boy' now, and he pushed her into the tin of green paint, which then spilt all over her favourite summer dress. She'd given her little brother the silent treatment for the rest of their trip.

Elena turned her head and saw the pink wood-block letters that spelt out her name. Her mother had given her a tube of purple glitter to decorate her name after the dress incident. Instead of entering her room, the memory of her mother led Elena to their bedroom door. The door held faint outlines of pen markings from when Elena and Jeremy thought their parents needed door décor as well. They'd drawn a picture of their family and the lake and Elena had drawn a flower garden.

Elena touched the door and smiled, remembering how mad their parents had been. Elena and Jeremey spent hours cleaning most of the pen markings off the door. After gently reminiscing, Elena's hand clutched the door handle of her parent's bedroom, torn between opening the bedroom door and stepping back, never to open that part of the lake house again.

Then Elena remembered her parents' room at their home in Mystic Falls. She didn't help clean their room after they died. Neither did Jenna or Jeremy. Liz Forbes was the Gilbert's guardian angel those first few weeks, and she'd offered to clean out her friends' possessions and pack them away in a storage facility on the other side of town. Elena knew she was being selfish, but she was already hurting too much. Now, Elena regretted not taking that opportunity to say goodbye.

Slowly, Elena opened her parent's bedroom door. The musty smell seemed stronger in there, though Elena caught the whiff of something else. It lingered softly in the air, almost overpowered by the scent of stale time. Her mother's perfume. The scent brought tears to Elena's eyes. It was a reminder of her parents but also a reminder that Elena would never see them again.

Elena walked over to her parent's closet. The perfume smell was stronger there. Elena brought the fabric of one of her mother's summer dresses to her face and inhaled. A tightness seizes Elena's chest and before she knew it, she was sobbing into her mother's clothes.

After several moments, Elena felt lighter. She looked at her mother's tear-stained clothes and laughed.

"I can't leave them like this," she said to herself. She grabbed the clothes that she had cried on and placed them on the bed to be washed. A box became visible behind the row of clothes. "I might as well pack these clothes up while I'm at it," she added.

Elena reached for the box to check if it was empty. When she picked it up, the box felt heavy – not too heavy for her to lift but heavy enough to spark Elena's curiosity. Placing the box on her parent's bed, Elena saw the name 'John' written on the top.

"Uncle John?"

Elena was about to open the box when her phone rang.

"Stefan?" Elena answered, having seen the caller ID.

"Hey, where are you?"

Elena sighed. "With Bonnie and Caroline."

"Elena," Stefan said. Elena felt as if she was being scolded. "I just ran into Caroline and Bonnie and you weren't with them. They said you needed a break? Did I do something?"

"No, Stefan," Elena said, soothingly. "I just needed some time out. I'm... I'm at my family's lake house."

"Okay, I'll be over in—"

"Stefan, wait. I don't want any company. I need some me-time, you know?"

"Oh! Okay... If you're sure..."

"I am sure. Being here has been quite cathartic, actually. I'm cleaning out my parent's room. Saying goodbye."

"Wow, are you okay? That must be hard…"

Elena smiled. "Yeah, I am, surprisingly. I had a bit of a cry but I feel better now. Stronger."

"That's good," Stefan said, still a little sceptical. He couldn't help but worry about his friend. To ease his worry, he jokingly added, "Have you found anything exciting? Some juicy secret? A skeleton in the closet?"

"Actually, I found just found a box with my Uncle John's name on it."

"Anything exciting inside?"

"Hang on and I'll open it up!" Elena said, putting the phone on the bed and turning on loudspeaker. When Elena opened the lid of the box, all she saw inside were books. "Hey, Stef. You're on loudspeaker. It's just a box of old books."

"What sort of books?"

Elena opened the first book. "They're my Uncle John's journals," she told Stefan. "Oh hey, this one's from the year I was born!"

"I'm sure it's full of stories about how brilliant you were," Stefan joked.

"I doubt it," Elena said. "John was never really around when I was growing up. My first memory of him was him returning to Mystic Falls broke and asking my dad for money after travelling the country and spending all of his trust fund money. I think I was about six."

"Maybe there's more to Uncle John than meets the eye," Stefan said.

Elena smiled and agreed with her friend. "Yeah, maybe… Oh, there's an entry the day after my birthday!"

"Well, what does it say?" Stefan asked.

"Probably nothing exciting. I don't even know if he was around when I was born," Elena said as she began to read.

 _I can't believe Isobel. How could she hide this from me? From everybody. She really is beautiful though. And so small. When I held her in my arms, I was so terrified of hurting her. Grayson said it was fine, that I was a natural._

 _Isobel left an hour ago. Grayson tried to make her stay, said she should rest for a few more days. But Isobel said she had to return to Fell's Church before her mother realised she was missing, even though we both know Elia would be too high to realise where Isobel was. Still, she ran. She signed over her parental rights and she left. She said she couldn't do it. She couldn't give our daughter the life she needed. Did she think I could? I'm barely eighteen. That's why I'm giving her away too._

 _Tomorrow, I'll sign whatever papers I need to sign and then I'll leave. Grayson and Miranda have agreed to take care of her. I know she'll be safe with them. It'll be better this way. I'm not ready to be a father. Grayson will be a good father to her. He and Miranda already named her. Elena Isabella Joanna Gilbert. My daughter._

Elena dropped the journal.

"Elena? What does it say?"

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no, no, no…"

"Elena, are you okay?"

"No, no, no, no…"

Stefan began shouting her name through the phone but Elena was too shocked to respond. Leaving her phone on the bed, Elena flew down the stairs. She pushed open the door and slammed it closed behind her. All she could think as she ran to her car was _I needed to get out of there_.

Almost automatically, Elena got into her car, turned the engine on, and sped out of the driveway, not fully comprehend which direction she was travelling. She just drove. And drove. And drove.

She didn't see the figure in the middle of the road until it was too late. When she registered his presence, she slammed on the breaks. The figure, a man, hit the front of her car, fell into her windscreen and slid off the back of the vehicle.

Elena stopped breathing as the car flipped. She felt weightless, like she did on Wickery Bridge the night her parents died.

The car landed on the road with a thud. Elena's body slipped down and she hit her head on the roof of the car. The blood in her body rushed to her head and she began to feel dizzy. Her face stung with fresh cuts.

Elena looked out of the side window of her car and saw the man she had just run over. He was lying crumpled on the tar. Wait. He moved. First his arm, then his other arm. His legs. He sat up and turned his torso toward where Elena lay upside down in her broken car. Slowly, the man began to stand. Then he began walking toward her. One of Elena's headlights shone on the road near where he walked and the closer he drew, the more of his features Elena could make out. Like the veins around his eyes, for instance, and the white glow of fangs.

Elena screamed. Then, another figure came up from behind the man and plunged a tree branch through his chest. His face grew grey and he fell to the ground, the branch sticking up from his back.

Another pair of feet began walking toward the car and Elena almost started screaming again. Until she noticed the figure who had staked the man was Damon.

"Damon!"

"Hey, shh, shh. It's okay. Let me get you out of there," he said. He crouched down and tore the door off the car.

"I want you to put your hands on the roof. Just like that. You ready? 1, 2, 3." Damon ejected Elena's seatbelt and she felt herself falling.

"I got you," Damon said, catching Elena and drawing her out of the car. "Are you okay? Can you stand? Is anything broken?"

Elena started crying. With shock and relief and grief. Damon began to pout Elena down, but he legs gave out the moment they touched the road. Damon caught her and brushed her hair away from her face. Shallow cuts marred her face and her eyes seemed to be rolling in their sockets.

"Whoa, Elena. Elena, look at me. Focus. Look at me. Okay."

"They left me," she muttered. "Everybody always leaves me."

"What?"

Without responding to him, Elena fainted.

Damon tapped her cheek lightly with the back of his hand. "Elena? Elena?"

She was unresponsive. Damon held onto Elena with one arm and bit into the wrist of his free arm. He let the blood drip into her mouth. Her throat swallowed the liquid unconsciously and Damon noticed the cuts on her face begin to heal. _She'll be fine_ , he thought. He looked behind him to where his car was parked on the side of the road. Then he looked down at the women in his arms. Once again, something about Elena Gilbert was making him care. _I guess she's coming with me_.

Damon carried Elena to his car and buckled her in. He went over to her car and pushed it to the side of the road. He grabbed the vampire he'd just killed, threw him into Elena's mangled vehicle and let the exhibition on fire.

Throwing his light into the smoking engine, Damon walked over to his car, climbed in, took a quick glance at Elena, and began to drive.


	11. Chapter 11

"I rock!" said Vicki, coming up behind Jeremy, throwing her arms around his neck. "I scored two tickets to The Posers Saturday night. They're playing at the Rat."

"Sounds like fun!" Jeremy said. Goosebumps erupted on across his neck and arms as Vicki's hot breath blew across his ear.

"Yeah, you can bring the blow to my place before the show. We can pregame hard and then top up when we get there."

Jeremy was about answer when Elena's words from the other day made him pause. "I, uhh… I haven't restocked since our last sesh." Jeremy took Vicki's hands and swung her around so that she was facing him. "How about we grab a few beers and make-out before the show instead." He was leaning in to kiss her when she pulled away.

"Do you have anything else?"

"I smoked the last of my weed this morning."

"Can you get more before Saturday?"

"Look, Vick, why don't we just take a break from all that stuff—"

"Wow, Jeremy, I didn't know you were going soft on me."

"I'm not!"

"It sounds like it. Look, I'll find some stuff before Saturday. We can still have a good time."

"Why can't be have a good time sober?" The words were out before Jeremy had the chance to stop them.

"Shit, Jer, you sound just like Matt."

"I'm not trying to, I'm just—"

"Why does everyone think they change me?" Vicki moved further away from Jeremy, shooting him and annoyed look. "Don't worry about The Posers, I'll find someone else to go with."

"Someone else with coke, you mean?" Jeremy scoffed. _Maybe Elena was right…_ "Tell me, was it the drugs? Were you sleeping with me because of the drugs?"

Vicki's annoyance turned into anger. "Screw you!"

"Well, no, if there's another reason, please, I'm all ears.

Vicki didn't answer, the anger turning her face red. If Jeremy didn't know any better, she'd think she was about to cry. _But Vicki Donovan wouldn't dare show any hint of vulnerability, right?_ Jeremy thought, sarcastically. Sick of her silence, Jeremy turned his back on her and walked away.

 _Elena was right. Elena was fucking right._

Jeremy wasn't sure whether he was more angry or upset, or maybe a mixture of the two. Either way, he sauntered through into the main school building, not fully seeing where he was headed, just wanting to get as far away from Vicki Donovan as he possibly could. He didn't see his sister's friend until he ran right into her.

"Woah!" Bonnie said, steadying herself. She looked at her best friend's brother and saw that he was upset. She pulled him to the side of the hall and asked him what was wrong.

"She was right," Jeremy said simply.

"Right?"

About Vicki," he clarified. "She told me that if I didn't give her anything, that she would find someone else who would. Elena said this would happen, she was fucking right."

"I'm sorry, Jer."

"I took her advice and, once again, she's taken someone I care about away from me."

"Who? Elena?" Bonnie felt Jeremy's words like a stab in the gut. "You don't mean that. None of this is Elena's fault."

"She's the reason Vicki and I are over. She's the reason mom and dad were on that bridge. Shit, she's not even a real Gilbert and yet she still ruins my life."

"Jeremy—"

"I'm sick of everyone trying to help me. I don't need you, Bonnie. All you are is my sister's friend and right now, you're just a pain in my ass."

With those final words, Jeremy stalked down the hall, leaving Bonnie Bennet leaning against an old locker. The final bell sounded and when everyone had gone into their classrooms. Bonnie quickly went to her first class, hoping to see Elena and prepare her for Jeremy's wrath. Only, Elena wasn't in class that morning. Nor was she at lunch.

Bonnie saw Stefan Salvatore enter the cafeteria and walked over to him. Stefan saw her coming and waved awkwardly, looking behind him to see if Bonnie Bennett was barrelling toward somebody else.

"Hey," he said as she came closer.

"Have you seen Elena?"

"No, but I called her yesterday at the lake house. She seemed pretty distressed."

"And you didn't tell me!?"

Stefan put up his hands. "Woah. Woah. Look, I went over to the lake house but she wasn't there. The door was open and her stuff was still inside the house. I went to see Jenna to see if she'd heard anything and she said that she received a text from Elena saying she was staying with you and Caroline."

"Me and Caroline? We haven't seen her since Friday! She called me yesterday morning but that's it."

Stefan froze. "She wasn't with you last night?"

Bonnie shook her head. "We were her cover yesterday, but I thought she just wanted to take a break. You don't think she's run away, do you? Or that something bad has happened to her?"

Stefan shook his head, not wanting to believe that Elena was hurt, or worse. "Look, I'll go over to her house and check on her now. Maybe she went back to the lake house last night. I'm sure she's fine, Bonnie."

"Don't you have class?"

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I have history. Been there, done it. I think I'll be okay if I skip."

Bonnie would have laughed if she wasn't so worried about Elena. "Let me know she's ok as soon as you find her."

"Of course. Here, give me your phone number. I'll call you with an update."

* * *

As the last school bell of the day rang, Bonnie checked her phone for the hundredth time. _Still no call from Stefan_. Bonnie huffed and threw her phone into her bag. She began marching over to her car when she saw Stefan leaning on the driver's door.

Before Bonnie could cuss him out, he spoke. "I need your help. It's Elena. She's missing. I have this scarf from her room. I was just hoping you could use this to make some sort of a connection."

Bonnie took a moment for Stefan's words to sink in. _Elena is missing. I need to use my magic to find her. Okay. But…_ "How do you know I can do this?

"Because I've known a few witches over the years. I've seen what they can do."

"I'm still new at it."

"It's okay. Give it a shot."

Bonnie nodded and took the scarf. She closed her eyes and concentrated all of her energy on Elena. After several minutes of trying, Bonnie groaned in frustration. "There's nothing. Nothing's happening. Usually there's an image or... Wait, tell me if anyone's looking."

Bonnie picked up a leaf that had fallen on the hood of her car. She placed in one palm and held the other palm over the leaf. When nothing happened, another frustrated groan escaped her lips.

"What is it?"

"Something's wrong."

"With Elena?"

"With me. There's something wrong with me. I have to go. I'm sorry, Stefan. I can't help you."

Bonnie nudged Stefan away from the car door and climbed in. Bonnie drove directly to her Grams' house and flew open the door.

"My powers are gone, Grams. I can't do anything, even when I concentrate."

"Hang on, now," Grams said, clambering out of her chair. "Just calm down. Tell me what happened."

"Elena has gone missing and I tried to do a spell to locate her, but I can't."

Grams held onto Bonnie's hand. "Well, first of all, if you're blocked, it's got nothing to do with the magic. You're stressed. You need to relax and clear your mind, then you're back in business."

"But what about Elena? What if she's in trouble?"

"Do you have something of Elena's here?"

Bonnie nodded. "I borrowed a skirt of hers a while back and I haven't returned it. It's in my closet."

"I'll do the spell and make sure Elena is ok. You focus on you."

"Ok, Grams," Bonnie said, gaining some relief from her Grams' wisdom. "It's a short red skirt with pockets. I need—"

Bonnie was cut off by a vision. A short flash. Of a church. Then a tomb. _Is Elena dead? No, I didn't feel Elena's presence in the vision. It was different. I felt…_

"I need to go. Can you let me know if Elena is ok when you find her?"

Grams nodded. "Take care, my girl."

Bonnie nodded and jumped back into her car. Less than an hour later, Bonnie arrived at Fell's Church, a town named for the small, ruined church that was once run by the Fell family back in the nineteenth century. The same church Bonnie was parked outside of at that very moment.

The feelings Bonnie had during her short vision came back and she picked up her phone to call Stefan. A text message from Grams was already flashing on her screen.

 _Elena is fine.  
She was laughing and with a man.  
He had dark hair and she called him Damon._

Bonnie scowled at the message. _She's off galivanting around with Damon – our best friend's boyfriend – while Stefan and I are worried sick about her?_ Bonnie sent Stefan a text.

 _Elena's with Damon.  
Apparently they're fine.  
I'm at the church at Fell's Church.  
Can you meet me here asap?_

Bonnie got out of the car and slowly walked toward the dilapidated church. To the side of the church was what looked like a tunnel. Something inside Bonnie was telling her to go inside.

Bonnie walked deeper and deeper into the tunnel, using her phone as a flashlight when the space around her grew too dark. Briefly, Bonnie wondered how far underground she was.

She kept walking until she reached a small enclave. Seeing something dark on the wall, Bonnie held her phone light closer before jumping back suddenly. On the wall, drawn in what looked like blood, was a pentagram inside a circle. Bonnie moved closer again and noticed something strange about the wall.

 _No, not a wall. A door._

Bonnie pressed her hand against the door and a vision flashed through her mind. Bodies. More than 20 of them, dead and decayed. No, not dead or decayed. They were alive. Barely.

"Move away from there, Bonnie."

Bonnie jumped and spun around. "Stefan!" she exclaimed. "You gave me a heart attack!"

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Calm down."

"I… I heard them. Through there, behind that door. Are… Are they in pain?"

Stefan stepped toward the door and bowed his head, listening intensely to the sounds behind the wall. "Probably," Stefan said, calmly. "They've starved to the point of desiccation. But how…"

 _Vampires_ , Bonnie thought. _Of course._ "But if they have blood..."

"That's not going to happen, Bonnie. They can't get out. I can feel the magic within the walls, can't you? A powerful witch spelled it shut."

"Why was I drawn to this place?"

"This church was burned down during the Civil War. It's my bet that the witch trapped them here then. It would have been a great cover."

"I still don't know what that has to do with me…"

"The only witch in Mystic Falls at that time was named Emily Bennett. Your ancestor."

"You knew my ancestor?"

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "I've been around a long time, Bonnie."

Bonnie scoffed. "Right, I keep forgetting. You seem so… normal."

"Normal?" Stefan laughed. "I'll take it."

"So why was this place messing with my magic?"

Stefan tried to hide his concerned expression, thankful for the lack of light and Bonnie's dull, human senses. "Blood magic perhaps? I'm not sure. I'm more concerned about why she'd…"

Stefan paled. _No_ , he thought. _She can't be in there. She can't be._

Stefan's attention turned back to Bonnie when she shivered heavily. "Can we get out of here? Elena is safe… Well, as safe as she can be with your brother. And it seems like we have more pressing issues to worry about."

"You're not worried about Elena being with Damon?"

"I'm pissed at Elena being with Damon," Bonnie said. "But Elena has always been one to go after what she wants, regardless of the consequences."

Stefan looked surprised. "That doesn't seem like the Elena I know."

"You haven't known her for that long, Stefan. I know you have feelings for her but a word of warning, Elena can be very self-centred sometimes. Often without realising it."

Stefan nodded curtly. "Do you really think she'll be ok with Damon?"

"He's your brother, Stefan. Why don't you tell me?" There was a long pause and, when Bonnie realised Stefan wasn't going to respond, she continued, "He's had the opportunity to harm her on more than one occasion. While I'm pissed that Elena is off somewhere with our best friend's boyfriend, I don't think Damon would hurt her."

Stefan remained quiet for a moment longer before taking Bonnie's wrist in his hand. "Okay, I trust you, Bonnie Bennett. Now, it's time for you to trust me."

"Trust you? Oh, right, you probably have vampy night vision."

Stefan could only grin as he took her hand and led them out of the tunnel.


	12. Chapter 12

Elena woke with a start. The feel of a car motor rumbling smoothly beneath her and a voice beside her called her name.

"Morning, sunshine," Damon said brightly.

Elena looked at him in confusion, hundreds of questions through her head. She picked the first one she could make sense of and threw it at him "Where are we?"

"Georgia."

"Georgia?" Elena's eyes widened. She looked out of every window of the car, hoping to see the familiar sight of Mystic Falls. "No, no. No, we're not. Seriously, Damon. Where are we?"

"Seriously. We're in Georgia," Damon said, nonplussed. "How're you feeling?"

When all Elena could do was stammer incoherently, Damon grabbed her arm. His touch seemed to centre her. He looked her over quickly before facing the road once more. "There's no broken bones."

"But my car!" Elena exclaimed when she recovered her speech. There was a man. I hit a man! But then he got up, and... who was he?

"A pile of ash, I suspect," Damon smirked. "Your car was collateral damage, sorry. It went up in flames with Vampy McVamperson."

"You blew up my car?" Elena asked, aghast.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Technically, you totalled it first. Besides, you should be thanking me. Now when you get back, you can tell everyone that someone stole your car and claim the insurance. You're very welcome."

"Why couldn't I have told them last night? Why did you kidnap me instead of taking me home?"

"Oh, you were so much more fun when you were asleep," Damon drawled. "Look, I sent Jenna a text message saying you had a slumber party with Bonnie and Caroline. You were in a bad shape, and not just physically. I thought I'd buy you time to recover."

"Well, I've had enough time to 'recover'. Just take me home, Damon. I'm not in the mood for one of your games."

"Games?"

"Yes, games. You act all flirty and cute, then you turn around and turn into a stone cold vampire! So, can you just take me home."

Damon eyed Elena after her outburst. Her lips were pursed, her arms crossed across her chest. He'd never seen her this closed off in the time he'd known her. Something had to have happened before the accident. However, from her body language, Damon knew that Elena wouldn't want to talk about any of it. At least not yet…

"Oh, come on," Damon said. "We've already come this far—"

Elena's anger grew at Damon's playfulness. "Why are you doing this? I can't be in Georgia! I wrecked my car! I have to go home!"

"Well, you're _in_ Georgia..."

"Look, no one knows where I am. Can we please just go back?"

"We're almost there."

"Where is there?" Elena asked, sceptically.

"A little place right outside of Atlanta. Oh, come on, Elena. You don't wanna go back right now. Do you? What's the rush? Time-out. Trust me. Your problems are still going to be there when you get home. Look. Step away from your life for five minutes. Five minutes!

Elena's brow furrowed. She knew that she should get back to Mystical Falls. Everyone would be so worried about her. That thought was immediately followed by the realisation that she was in another state with the man she was infatuated with.

 _Yeah, and who's also your best friend's boyfriend!_

The tension in Elena's brow released, but her lips remained in a straight line at that last thought. Still, Elena wanted this time. Time away from Mystic Falls. Away from her family drama. Time _with_ Damon. To ease her trepidation, she asked, "I… I trust you, Damon… but… am I going to be safe with you?"

Damon hid his surprise at Elena trusting him and nodded his head. "Yes."

Twenty minutes later, Damon pulled up in front of a bar with "Bree's Bar" emblazoned across the front. Elena's jaw dropped an inch. _He brought me to a bar? I'm not old enough. They're not going to let me in!_

Damon smirked wickedly as the duo exit his car and entered the blue-doored building. A woman in her thirties looked up from behind the bar, her black hair tied up in a high ponytail to contain her curly hair.

"Well, as I live an breathe," the woman said. "If it isn't Damon Salvatore. The man that broke my heart, crushed my soul, destroyed my life, and ruined any and all chances of happiness!"

Damon smiled at the woman, who Elena assumed was Bree. As he reached the bar, Bree jumped up and leaned over the bar, grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips.

Elena folded her arms over her chest as she looked at the spectacle. _It seems like he's willing to kiss everyone_ except _me._ Elena was beginning to feel left out — and not only because of the kiss. Seeing Damon interact with this woman was so different to how he interacted with her, or even Caroline. He was so… familiar with this woman.

Bree jumped down from the bar and poured two shots. "Drink up, honey pie."

Making her presence known, Elena walked to the bar and sat in the seat beside Damon. When Damon and Bree downed their shots, Bree looked over at Elena and smiled.

"So, how'd he rope you in?" Bree asked Elena, pouring her a shot.

"Rope me in?" Elena asked, taking the shot.

"Honey, if you're not roped, you're whipped. Either way," Bree wiggled her eyebrows. "Just enjoy the ride."

Bree smiled and poured more alcohol, but something about the way Bree said "ride" made Elena unnecessarily mad. It was obvious by Bree's flirty tone that she and Damon had had a sexual relationship. Part of her, though, yearned to learn more. To learn how close they _actually_ were _._

"So, how did you two meet?" she asked.

Bree responded, "College," simply.

Elena shot Damon a look. "You went to college?"

"I've been on a college campus, yes," Damon said, pretending to be offended.

Bree let out an exaggerated, dreamy sigh. "About twenty years ago, when I was a sweet, young freshman, I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more." Bree refilled everyone's shot glasses with a devilish smirk. "Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

Damon tilted his head down to Elena's ear. "She's a witch," he said.

Elena clasped her hand on her neck where he spoke to hide the goosebumps that had erupted from his closeness. Bree caught the interaction with the two and shot Elena a knowing look.

Damon straightened up in his chair and looked at Bree. "I need to go to the little vampire's room. Same place, right?"

"Nothing's changed," Bree laughed. Once Damon had disappeared through the back of the bar, she turned to Elena and winked. "He is good in the sack, isn't he?"

Elena stammered for a moment before spitting out, "He's with my best friend, actually."

"Ooft," Bree exhaled. "That must be tough. Does he know?"

Elena quirked an eyebrow. "That I'm in love with him? Kind of. He knows I feel something anyway. But he's made it obvious he's not interested."

"Honey, that man is most _definitely_ interested. The way he looks at you…"

"It's because I look like his ex."

"Ahh, so you know about Katherine."

Elena's head shot up. "You know about Katherine."

"Only what Damon told me which, as you can imagine, wasn't much."

Elena nodded. "Damon sure does like his secrets." _Something he and my family have in common…_

Bree looked at Elena with concern. "Look, I wish I could say it gets better, but loving Damon Salvatore? Honey, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." Bree poured Elena another drink. "Drink up, sweetheart. I have to check something in the back but when I return, I'll grab ya'll some burgers."

When Bree entered the back of her bar, Damon was waiting for her, examining his nails, acting bored. "About time, I thought I'd been too subtle in asking you to meet me back here."

"You're about as subtle as a bull in a china shop with me, boy," Bree smirked. "Now, you wanna tell me what you're doing in my bar on this fine Monday morning?"

"I need to know how to free her."

Bree rolled her eyes. "After all these years, it's still only Katherine. How do you even know she's still alive?"

"Well, you help me get into that tomb, and we'll find out," Damon said, his posture straightening in a threatening manner.

"Do you have the crystal?" Bree asked.

"Safe and sound."

"The spell?"

"I have a good idea where to find it."

"Do you know when the comet is set to arrive?"

"The comet?"

Bree stared at Damon blankly. "I told you about it. Twenty years ago. Remember? On the night Katherine was taken into the tomb and sealed in there, a comet flew over Mystic Falls. Emily Bennet tied the spell's energy to the comet, meaning—"

"The spell can only be undone when the comet flies over Mystic Falls. Is that why you told me to wait twenty years to open the tomb? Is the comet close?"

Bree nodded. "It appears in the sky at the same geographic location as Mystic Falls every hundred and forty-six years."

"Do you know the date it'll appear?" Damon asked, impatiently.

Bree walked over to a large star chart that hung on her office wall. "It's scheduled to appear in two weeks time. You were cutting it close to come and see me."

Damon grinned. "Two weeks."

Bree continued standing in front of the star chart, her back to Damon. As she told him the news, a sad look crossed Bree's face. "Yes," she said softly. "Two weeks."

* * *

"Come on!" Damon exclaimed, watching Elena pick apart her burger. "You don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?"

"How can you even eat? Aren't you technically dead?"

Damon shrugged. "As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."

"Blood and bourbon, you mean," Bree interrupted, handing Damon and Elena a drink each.

"I'm a man who knows what he wants," Damon chuckled. Seeing Elena take a long drink from her glass, Damon grew a little worried. As Bree moved away to serve other customers, Damon asked Elena, "How many of those have you had?" Elena smiled goofily at him. Her eyes looking a little glazed over, but Damon could see that she wasn't drunk. Yet.

"Time out, remember? Five minutes," Elena responded. "That five minutes is going to need lots of tequila."

Damon sighed and turned to face Elena more fully. "You wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"What's wrong with what?"

Rolling his eyes, Damon responded, "With you."

Elena smiled an exaggerated toothy grin. "Nothing's wrong. Sunshine, lollypops, etc, etc."

"Has my golden-boy brother done something? Someone at school." Damon paused to wink. "I could eat them for you if you want."

Elena giggled.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Damon asked, pretending to be offended. "I could take on a seventeen-year-old! Give 'em a good ol' one, two." Instead of raising his fists, Damon lowered his fangs for a split second, too quick for any of the human bar patrons to notice.

"Put those away before you get us in trouble," Elena said jokingly, hitting Damon arm in a playful manner. When she lowered her arm, took a sip of her drink and calmed her face into a pensive expression. "I, uh… I found out who my birth parents are."

"So? What's the big deal? Are they serial killers or something? The Bonnie and Clyde of the twenty-first century?"

When Elena didn't laugh at his joke, Damon mirrored her expression. "Look, who cares who they are. You don't need them."

"That's the thing. I don't need them. But they never gave me a chance, they just… up and left. And to make it worse, I know who my biological father is. I've known him all my life and he's never acknowledged me as anything more than a nuisance. His annoying little niece."

Damon spat his drink at Elena's last statement. "Wait, what? Your dad is your uncle? Or is your uncle your dad?"

"Please don't try and make a joke out of this Damon," Elena said, spinning around in her seat and putting her head in her hands. "When I found out I was adopted, I don't know… I guess I thought my biological parents were struggling teenagers who were _forced_ to give me up. Instead, I find out I was abandoned by the man I grew up thinking was my uncle and the random woman he knocked up? That's _fucked up_ , Damon."

Damon let out a low whistle and exclaimed in a stage-whisper, "Woah, I can't believe Miss Prim and Proper just said the F-word!"

Elena looked up from her hands, a hint of a smile peeking at the corner of her lips. She used one hand to push Damon playfully again. "Shut up, I'm having an existential crisis over here."

"Pfft," Damon scoffed. "Don't talk to me about existential crises until you're a 169-year-old vampire eating burgers in your witch ex-girlfriend's bar with your current girlfriend's best friend, who looks identical to the dead love of your life, while ignoring the thousands of text messages and missed called from your eternally annoying baby brother."

As if on cue, Damon's phone began vibrating in his jacket pocket. Damon sighed dramatically and ignored Stefan's call, not seeing Elena's smile diminish at the reminder of Damon's relationship status with Caroline.

"I need to pee," Elena blurted out.

Damon gave her a quizzical look. "Thanks for the TMI?"

Embarrassed by her outburst, Elena ran to the public toilet outside of the bar. Damon looked after her in confusion.

"What was that about?" Bree asked, resting her arms on the bar in front of Damon.

"There's some stuff going on with her family," he responded.

"Have you told her, yet?" Bree asked, taking a glass from the dish rack and putting it in the dishwasher.

"Told her what?" Damon asked, brow furrowed. He popped a chip in his mouth and looked in the direction Elena had run.

"That you like her?"

Damon turned to look at Bree and scoffed. "Like her? She's okay, I guess. More my brother's type."

It was Bree's turn to scoff. "Please, she is a spitting image of Katherine, doesn't take your bullshit and can unhinge her jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." Bree quirked an eyebrow and leaned into Damon. "She's _totally_ your type."

"That's it though, isn't it," Damon said, popping another fry into his mouth. "She's not Katherine. I've been waiting for her for 145 years. No little doppelganger will distract me from freeing her from that tomb."

"I never said she was distracting…"

Damon shot Bree a deathly glare. "Don't twist my words, witch." Eating another fry, Damon got up and out of his seat. "I'm going to find Elena, we have a big drive back to Mystic Falls."

Bree nodded. "Have a safe trip, Dee."

Damon paused mid-stride, unsure how to respond to Bree's sudden sincerity. She even used the nickname she gave him when they first met. After a short moment, he continued on his way. "See you next time I need my fortune told, Bee."

When he exited the bar, Damon noted how quiet it was. He looked around, spotting a shoe on the ground by the dumpster. _Wait_. Damon moved closer. _What… Elena's shoe?_ Then he heard it. It was racing like a hummingbird. A heartbeat.

Damon picked the shoe up and walked around the side of the bar, only to see Elena hanging onto a tank.

"Damon, stop!" she cried.

A man flashed to Damon's side and attacked him with a wooden plank. "What the—" Damon's words are cut off by another hit.

The man continued to hit Damon as Elena jumped down from the tank and ran towards Damon. "Stop!" she cried, over and over. The man turned to her, revealing his vampire teeth.

"Who are you?" Damon grunted.

"Stop looking for her," the man said, turning back to Damon and hitting him again.

"What? Looking for who?" Damon asked between blows.

"Katherine," the man spat. "Leave her alone."

Catching Katherine's name, Elena said, "I don't understand. Katherine's dead."

The man stopped hitting Damon. "I guess your replacement doesn't know the whole story, does she? Don't worry, I'll take good care of her after I ram this piece of wood through your pathetic heart."

"Don't. Don't, please, don't hurt him!" Elena called. "He's not looking for Katherine. Katherine's dead. He saw her die. Right, Damon?" Elena looked to Damon for backup.

 _Why isn't he speaking?_ she thought. The man snapped the wooden plank over his knee. He threw away the splinters and kept one for himself. Acting quickly, Elena picked up a splintered piece of wood and, as the man was about to stake Damon in the chest, Elena pierced the man's heart with the splintered wood.

The man gasped and groaned before turning grey and collapsing on top of Damon. The wooden splint in his hand pierced Damon's shoulder and he cried out in pain. Elena tore the piece of wood from Damon's shoulder and threw it to the side.

"Thanks," Damon gasped out between wheezed breathes.

"Who was that?" Elena asked, grabbing onto Damon's hand to help him stand. "Why was he talking about Katherine?"

Damon shook his head from side to side. "I have no idea!"

As Damon stood, a short laugh came from Elena's lips. Damon grimaced at her. "What the _fuck_ is so funny about this current situation?"

Elena smirked. "I saved your life!"

"Ugh, I know," Damon groaned with the hint of a smile.

Elena's grin grew. "And don't you forget it!"

Damon rolled his eyes and limped toward the bar. "Yeah, yeah. Look, you go back to the car. I'll meet you there after I clean up."

"Oh, no! Heaven forbid that Damon Salvatore gets blood in his precious car!"

Damon followed slowly behind as Elena walked into the bar and out the door toward Damon's Camaro. Once she's gotten inside, Damon looked around the bar for Bree. She wasn't there. He went toward her office where they had spoken earlier that day.

Bree jumped slightly as her office door clicked open. "I thought you'd be leaving straight away. Did you find Elena okay?" she asked in a level voice, though her hand was shaking.

"Yeah," Damon responded slowly. "I just realised I didn't say a proper goodbye."

Bree's response was flat. "Good to see you again, Damon."

Slowly, all the puzzle pieces began to come together. The vampire who attacked Elena on the same road Damon just so happened to be driving down. The vampire from tonight. Bree acting sketchy. Something, or someone, was trying to interfere with his plans to get Katherine back. "What?" he asked, pretending to be shocked. "No kiss?"

Bree turned around quickly at Damon's menacing tone. "I'm full of vervain. I put it in everything I drink."

"And you're telling me this why?"

"She's not in there, Damon," Bree said, her voice beginning to shake. "Katherine survived, she's been travelling the world. Always one step ahead, you know how she is."

Damon flashed in front of Bree. "You're lying!" he seethed.

"No!" Bree exclaimed, becoming more and more visible frightened. "I'm telling you the truth. I promise."

"My dear, sweet Bree," Damon said, running a hand down Bree's cheek. He tucked a hair behind her ear before snapping her neck. "I'm almost sorry."


	13. Chapter 13

"How angry was Jenna?"

"Very. Apparently she got suspicious when Stefan called her asking her where I was and then Jeremy told her I wasn't at school. She gave me the whole 'I'm not angry, I'm just disappointed' speech last night."

"Ouch!"

Elena nodded in agreement. "I know. I needed the break, though."

"Yes, because an interstate road trip with your best friend's boyfriend is the exact cure _I'd_ need after finding out my uncle is actually my dad, too."

"Bonnie," Elena groaned. "Can you please stop it with the judging? I told you, nothing happened between Damon and me. Besides, I think he only took me on the trip to make Stefan mad."

Bonnie refrained from rolling her eyes at her friend. "There's always something happening between you and Damon."

Elena pouted slightly and went on the defence. "Well, I wasn't the only one with a Salvatore yesterday. Caroline said she saw you and Stefan driving in through Mystic Falls in your car yesterday. Wanna talk about that?"

"Me and Stefan?" Bonnie laughed. "No way. I was having issues of the supernatural kind and Stefan was there to help me out. Did you know there are vampires locked inside a tomb beneath Fell's Church?"

"Ummm, what now?"

"I know, right! Stefan said they were imprisoned there and starved."

"That's insane, I mean… How long do you think they've been in there?"

"Since the Civil War, at least. That's when the Confederates burned it down remember. Twenty-seven civilians were inside. Union sympathisers, supposedly…" Bonnie continued to speak but her words became fainter and fainter in Elena's mind, her head swirling with the information Bonnie had produced.

"I need to go!" Elena exclaimed, jumping up and gathering her things from the table her and Bonnie were sat at. Bonnie looked on as Elena ran to her car and pulled out of the Mystic Falls High School student carpark.

As Elena drove toward the boarding house, her mind continued to reel.

 _The Civil War. That's when Damon and Stefan were alive. Fell's Church… where Katherine died. But if there are vampires under the church… That guy in Georgia told Damon to stop looking for her… Is Katherine…? Could she be…?_

Once Elena reached the boarding house, she tore open her car door and blew into the house like a hurricane. "Damon? Stefan?" There was a moment of silence before a tell-tale gust of wind blew through the front door and Damon stood bored in its entrance.

"Enough yelling, Elena. What do you want?"

"You," she said. Damon opened his mouth, readying a sarcastic response when Elena continued. "I know your plan, Damon."

Damon still at Elena's words.

"What plan?" a voice from the staircase replied. Elena turned to see Stefan coming down the staircase.

"He's trying to get Katherine back!" Elena told him, pointing at Damon. "She's still alive. Under the church."

Stefan's expression turned dark. "I'd suspected…"

Damon shot his brother a look. "What do you mean, you suspected? Since when?"

Stefan stepped down the remaining stairs and walked toward his brother at a slow yet determined pace. "Since Bonnie and I happened upon the tomb beneath Fell's Church yesterday while you two rendezvoused in Georgia!"

"Stefan," Elena began, but her friend ignored her small voice.

"No, I was so worried about you yesterday Elena. Only to find out you were with my brother the whole time. And you," Stefan said, pointing a finger at Damon. "What are you thinking, bringing Katherine back? Remember what it was like in this town back then? The fear and the hysteria?"

"Townspeople were killing vampires one by one," Damon responded in a monotone voice. A dark edge lingered in every syllable. "When they came for Katherine, I went straight to Emily, said I'd do anything. I told Emily to name her price, just protect Katherine. She did."

"How?" It was Elena who asked this time.

"She did some kind of spell with a crystal. And while the church was burning, and we thought Katherine was burning in it, she wasn't."

Stefan's eyes widened. "But I saw her go inside..."

"The tomb underneath the church," Damon replied. "The spell sealed Katherine in that tomb, protecting her."

"She's alive." Stefan's voice broke and Elena could see his right hand trembling, though he maintained eye contact with his brother, refusing to break.

"If that's what you wanna call it. She's been trapped in a mystical holding cell for the last century and a half, but you're an expert on starving a vampire, so how do you think she's doing, Stefan?" Damon spat. "Did you know that witches can use celestial events to draw energy into their magic? Me either. But in order to give the crystal its power, Emily used the comet that was passing overhead. And, in order for that crystal to work again..."

"The comet had to return," Elena spoke softly.

Damon looked briefly at Elena as he continued. "Downside? Long time in between comets. But the comet will pass in two weeks, I got the crystal, and here we are."

"Why would Emily...? Why would she do this for you?" Stefan asked.

"Because she knew they were gonna come for her, too, and she made me promise that her lineage would survive."

"I remember. You saved her children."

Damon shrugged. "A deal's a deal."

"But wait," Elena interjected. "Bonnie implied that there was more than one vampire inside that tomb... Who else did Emily save?"

"To save her, she had to save _them_."

Stefan studied his brother for a fraction of a second. "She saved everyone in the church?"

"Everyone?" Elena inquired, but she went unnoticed.

"With one, comes all," Damon replied, nonchalant.

Stefan grew hot with anger. "This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge."

Damon straightened and leaned toward Stefan as if posing for a fight. "I don't care about them. I just want Katherine."

"Who is 'them'?" Elena asked in a louder voice. Still, the brother continued their verbal sparring.

"There are 26 other vampires in that tomb, Damon," Stefan cried. "You can't just bring them back."

"I'll burn them all if that makes you happy," Damon said, his anger at his younger brother beginning to show. "All I want is her."

"All of this trouble for her?" Elena spoke up, piecing together the brother's conversation. "She used you and Stefan. Compelled him, fed from him, forced herself onto him. He's your brother Damon! You're really choosing her—"

"Yes!" Damon roared. "I am choosing Katherine. You know why I never told you about the tomb, Stefan? 'Cause I didn't want you to know. 'Cause I hated you and I still do."

"I've spent more than a hundred years apologising for that!"

Damon let out a dark laugh. "I don't hate you because you forced me to turn," he said, taking a menacing step toward his brother. "I hate you because she turned you, too. It was just supposed to be me, Stefan. Just. Me."

Pain flashed in Stefan's eyes, but he recovered quickly. Reaching around Damon, Stefan grabbed his coat off the coat hook beside the door, and ran.

Elena watched Stefan leave before she could utter a single word. Reeling from his sudden disappearance, Elena turned to Damon with a heated gaze. "He's your brother, Damon! How can you want her after everything she's done? She's not even here and she's still tearing the two of you apart!"

"You have no idea what I want, Elena," he said through gritted teeth.

"I have no idea what you want?' Elena asked with a scoff.

Damon rounded onto Elena, his body still tense from his fight with Stefan. "You don't know me, Princess. How many times do I have to tell you? One silly interaction in the woods does not a relationship make."

Elena fought the urge to laugh in his face. "We have something, Damon," she said. "An understanding."

"Pfft. An understanding?"

Elena grinned, not afraid of Damon's evil-brother act. She stepped toward him. Stefan made a move toward her as if to shield her from Damon's wrath, but Elena pushed her friend aside. She stood straight in front of Damon and looked up into his eyes. They shone. Not with mirth as they had when they first met, but with anger and a hint of sadness.

"You want what everyone wants," Elena responded, using his words against him. "Passion. Adventure. Even a little bit of danger."

She was so close that Damon could feel her breath warm his skin through his shirt. She looked up at him like she always did – with eyes like an open book, darting between his eyes and his mouth, unsure which feature to focus on.

Damon leaned closer to her, not even sure of his movements. She froze and chose to focus on his lips. His lips parted, and he let out a shaky breath. Elena almost grinned at the action. Vampires didn't need to breathe. She leaned up, pressing her chest to his to balance herself. When their lips touched, it was like an explosion of lust and anger and happiness. Not caring that she was kissing her best friend's boyfriend, Elena put her arms around his neck to press her lips closer to his. It was messy. Their teeth gnashed, and they bit at each other's lips, trying to bring the other impossibly closer.

Elena slowed the kisses and, reluctantly, pulled away.

Damon froze and brought Elena's arms from around his neck and laying them at her side. "Why did you do that?" he asked, his voice detached.

 _He was pulling away from me_ , Elena thought. _Emotionally as well as physically_.

Elena smiled sadly. "Look, I know you loved Katherine—"

"No Elena," he said, harder this time. "I _love_ Katherine. From the moment I met her. She didn't compel me. I wanted it. I wanted everything. I waited 145 years for her. I _love_ her, Elena."

Elena nodded stiffly. _What can I do? How can I make him see?_

"Okay, then this is what's going to happen," she said. "I will… I'm… I'm going to help you get her out of the tomb."


	14. Chapter 14

"You what?" Stefan roared, pacing Elena's bedroom. "Why did you agree to help him? You know what she did! What she'll continue to do once she's out!"

"Because I love him," Elena whispered, her voice hoarse. "I want him to choose me."

Stefan paused to notice Elena's face was puffy from crying. He hadn't noticed that when he first came around to her house after letting off steam in the woods. "Choose you?" he asked.

"You've told me about Katherine. I've read her journals. She was selfish, manipulative, and cruel. When he realises that—"

"Elena, you have to understand. Damon knows all of that. Yet he still loves her."

"No, Stefan," Elena argued. "He loves the idea of her. The idea of a love that will love him forever. He was willing to share that love with you in hopes that she would, ultimately, choose him."

"Katherine didn't love either of us," Stefan said. "She only loved herself."

"And hopefully Damon will see that," Elena said. "Before it's too late."

Stefan nodded. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'll go through the Gilbert journals. Bonnie is going to convince her Grams to help her with the spell when the time comes. I need your help to get that grimoire."

"What's Damon doing?"

"I left him a few hours ago on his eighth glass of scotch, still not believing I wanted to help."

"I'm not sure I believe it."

"Love is selfless Stefan," Elena said with conviction. It was something her mother said to her just before Elena broke up with Matt. "If she is what he wants, I love him enough to let him go. But part of me believes he loves me too." _He kissed me back,_ Elena thought, touching her lips absently. "Or, he could, anyway. And that hope is what is driving me right now."

"What do you think will happen?" Stefan asked. Elena looked at Stefan quizzically. "After we get out and he chooses you, what do you think will happen?"

Elena shrugged. "I haven't thought that far ahead," she admitted. "He's waited 145 years to get her out, but is it _her_ he wants? Or closure? I mean you guys didn't exactly break up. She was trapped in a tomb and you two were killed."

"I don't think you know Damon well enough to make that judgement, Elena."

"I know it seems fast and that we haven't known each long, but I know what I feel Stefan. Sometimes when I look into his eyes, I see it too. That all-consuming love that's so scary it makes you want to run away. I see myself in Damon. I don't want to run from it. My parents wanted me to live my life to the fullest and that's what I'm doing. I'm taking a risk, baring my soul, hoping the person I give my heart to won't tear it to pieces..."

As Elena spent the evening updating Stefan on her plans, Damon lay on his bed. An empty bottle of scotch sat on his bedside table and Caroline pulled on a fresh dress from her overnight bag. He didn't know why she bought it with her. She never actually stayed the night. "No yellow," he said as she pulled on a yellow dress. "Go for the blue."

"But it has a bloodstain on it from where you bit me too hard. I can't be seen going home in a bloodstained dress," Caroline shot back. "Besides, I don't like the blue."

"Well, I do."

Caroline huffed and pulled the yellow dress off and threw it into her overnight bag. As she climbed into the blue dress, Damon grinned at his win and went back to the book he was reading. "What's so special about this Bella girl?" he asked. "Edward's so whipped."

Caroline smoothed the dress over her body. It sat nicely on her shoulders, giving the world the perfect view of her neck. _That's probably why Damon chose it,_ she thought. With the dress on, she gave her attention back to her boyfriend. "You gotta read the first book first. It won't make sense if you don't."

"I miss Anne Rice. She was so on it."

Caroline crawled across the bed to where Damon rested, one hand resting behind his head. She flirted with the loose buttons of his dress shirt. "How come you don't sparkle?"

"Because I live in the real world, where vampires burn in the sun."

"Yeah, but you and Stefan go in the sun."

"We have rings to protect us. Long story. Witches were involved."

"I know these bites won't turn me, but how exactly does one become a vampire?" Caroline asked excitedly. While she didn't think she'd ever want to turn, she couldn't help but be incredibly fascinated by vampires.

"You'd have to feed on my blood, then die, then feed on a human's, it's a whole ordeal. This book, by the way, has it all wrong." Damon kissed Caroline on the neck. "Although Edward does remind me of Stefan. You aren't thinking of switching Salvatore's, are you?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Stefan is obviously into Elena. I think I have the hotter Salvatore, anyway."

Damon rolled so Caroline lay beneath him. "Damn straight." He kissed his way down her throat and along her shoulder. "You'd better drink some blood before you go. I don't want mommy dearest shooting me with a wooden bullet if she sees you coming home like this."

"You can be very sweet when you want to be," Caroline said sarcastically. "Besides, there's still a chance my mother will shoot you, vampire or not."

"Oh?" Damon inquired, leaning back, a dangerous glint in his eye. "I thought we got along so well at our business meeting. Since our meeting last week, she's got the whole Founder's Council thinking I'm some big-shot vampire hunter. If only they knew, 'ey."

Caroline giggled, mischievously. "Is that where they think you were while you were out of town? Hey, where _did_ you go, by the way?"

"That's for me to know and for you to…" Caroline's laughter filled Damon's bedroom as Damon's fingers attacked her stomach and his mouth went back to her throat. He nibbled at the skin there and kissed his way down to her collarbone.

Taking in her scent, Damon bit into the swell of Caroline's breast, her warm blood coating his throat. Damon licked at the wound to keep the blood from spilling all over her pretty blue dress. Once the bleeding slowed, he bit into his own wrist and held it up to her lips. She drank greedily from him before laying back against his pillows, sated.

"You're being very secretive," she said after a beat. "Everyone has been actually. Do you know what's going on?"

Damon suppressed an eye roll as Caroline's insecurities bubbled to the surface. "Elena, Stefan and Bonnie have agreed to help me bring Katherine back."

Caroline froze. "What?" she cried, sitting up from his bed. "Firstly, there's a way to bring Katherine back? As in your ex-girlfriend Katherine?"

"Look, Blondie, you knew this was a short-term thing—"

"That's not the point, Damon!" Caroline said, standing. "You could have told me! Given me some notice that your ex will be back in the picture soon!"

"But—"

"Which brings me to my second WTF moment," Caroline said, her face growing red with anger. "Why was I not involved in this? First Elena and Stefan become best friends, then Bonnie starts spending more time with Elena and Stefan, and now you? Why is everyone pushing me to the side?"

"You—"

"I'm more than some ditzy blonde, Damon Salvatore! I'm an intelligent, capable woman. I can help just as well as Elena! Maybe better, even!"

"Caroline!" Caroline paused to take a breath after Damon yelled her name.

"Don't 'Caroline' me, Damon. I'm sick of this. And I'm sick of you. Of everybody. You all treat me like shit. Well, I'm not the shit person here, Damon! You are!"

With that, Caroline Forbes gathered her things and exited Damon's room. As she was storming down the stairs, she ran into Stefan. She shot him a nasty look but continued down the stairs and out the boarding house door.

Stefan knocked on Damon's open door a minute later and asked, "Any reason why your girlfriend gave me a death stare when I came home just now?"

Damon rolled his eyes. He was sitting up in his bed now, jeans slung low on his hips, his hands behind his head. "Blondie's feeling left out," he said. "I should have ended this fling sooner, but she does this thing..."

"Left out of what?" Stefan asked, not wanting to hear about his brother's sex life.

"Our little plan to free Katherine," Damon elaborated. "She thinks Elena, Bonnie and I are on some mission to exclude her from our game of free-the-vampire-from-the-tomb. I assume Elena's briefed you."

Stefan grunted. "She's looking for a lead on the grimoire now."

"You don't seem happy about it. Feeling jealous, Steffy?" Damon chuckled as his brother's brow furrowed. _Mr. Broody is back in business. Not that he ever left…_

"I'll help you."

Damon froze, eye-widening at his brother's outburst. "You want to help?" he asked. "You hate me. You hate Katherine."

"I want this over with."

"This?"

"This," Stefan clarified. "Whatever has been going on between us all these years. This feud. I want it to end."

"Still… You? Help me?" Damon laughed. "I don't know. Seems a little unnatural."

"I'll do anything to get you out of this town, even release Katherine."

"What about the other 26 vampires?"

"They burn, but Katherine?" Stefan clenched his fist in an attempt to shield his emotions from his brother. "I would consider that."

"What are you doing? Hmm? What's your angle?"

"Do you want my help or not?"

"Why would I trust you?"

"See that's your problem, Damon. You apply all of your shortcomings to everybody else. If history's any indication, there's only one liar among us."

Damon jumped up from his position on his bed with vampiric speed. "Then be honest with me, Stefan. What do you want?"

Stefan gazed at his brother coolly. He missed the boy who protected and played with him, the boy who was his best friend until he let a woman get between them both. Any love Stefan may have had for Damon before this moment turned to dust as he said, "I want you to leave town with Katherine. And I never want to see you, either of you, ever again."

* * *

The road was winding and the sky was dark as Caroline sped down it, singing along to her favourite Taylor Swift album. _Nothing like some TSwift to get over a boy_ , she thought.

Caroline wasn't in love with Damon but she did care for him. Though she wasn't sure he cared about her all that much. He was always so closed off and guarded around everyone, including her, and she could never read him. Not like Elena could.

Part of her was happy that things ended with Damon. Another part, her pride mostly, was sad about _how_ they ended. Damon had been her first real boyfriend. She felt like a woman with him, not a scared and jealous little girl. It was those feeling he ignited in her that she would miss.

Caroline heard the CD track change as she continued speeding along the quiet, winding road that led from the boarding house on the outskirts of town to her house on the other side of Mystic Falls. She hated the drive. It was long and dreary and it took her all the way around town. Still, it was a better alternative than taking the drive-of-shame through town at midnight and being spotted by her mother or one of her officers.

Deciding she didn't want to listen to this song, Caroline reached down and pressed the skip button on her car's radio. She looked down for only a second. When she looked back up, Caroline saw another car speeding toward her. Caroline allowed down and tried to drive on the edge of the road where the bitumen met the gravel.

The car in front of her drifted further in her lane, edging Caroline closer and closer of the side of the road. The gravel along the side of the road was a thin strip before it met dense wood.

 _Nowhere to stop…_ Caroline thought, quickly checking her surrounds.

The car inched closer this time swerving more erratically. Caroline tried to catch a glance of the driver but only saw a person with their eyes closed, their head resting back on the headrest of the driver's seat.

 _Is that Tyler Lockwood?_ He looked asleep, but his lips seemed to be moving.

Caroline blew her car horn hard as the car veered far too close for comfort. Tyler's eyes opened wide and he gathered his grip on the steering wheel. His jolted, resisting his control. Vicki Donovan sat up in the passenger seat, wiping her mouth, her eyes as wide as Tyler's as she realised they were about to crash.

Caroline felt Tyler's car bump her own. The hit shocked Caroline and she let go of the steering wheel momentarily, losing control of her vehicle.

She grasped the steering wheel again, trying to gather control of her car. She heard the screeching of Tyler's breaks and pushed down on her own, hard. Her car only sped further out of control as all four of her wheels hit the gravelled along the side of the road, and she drove straight into a cluster of thick, sharp trees.

Caroline could only watch as a tree branch slammed through her front car window and impaled her chest.


	15. Chapter 15

"What are you doing out here?" Jenna asked, stepping out onto the porch. "It's cold."

Elena looked up from where she sat on the porch swing. "I was just seeing Stefan off. He's going through some stuff with his brother."

Jenna nodded absently. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, just sibling stuff, you know."

"Speaking of…" Jenna moved to sit next Elena, wrapping her robe further around her body. "How's everything between you and Jeremy?"

"He's still not talking to me," Elena sighed. "I'm surprised you are, actually."

Jenna wrapped an arm around her niece. "I'm mad that you lied to me about skipping school, but I'm not going to give you the cold shoulder over it," she said softly. "Did you want to talk about it?"

At the softness of her Aunt's voice, Elena burst into tears. After a moment of shock, Jenna hugged Elena tighter to her side. "Hey, it's all right. What's up. You can talk to me, 'Lena."

"So much has happened and I can't—" Elena managed between sobs. "I can't, Jenna. I just can't."

"This isn't just about Jeremy, is it?"

Elena shook her head. "I just feel like… Ever since Mum and Dad died, everything started going to shit. Jeremy hates me, I'm in love with a guy who doesn't want me back, Bonnie's judgey attitude has gotten worse, Caroline and my relationship has become even more stilted, and I just found out my uncle is my biological father."

Jenna's eyes widen. "What was that last part."

"John, Jenna," Elena cried. "John's my father. I found his journal at the lake house on the weekend and he admitted to signing over his parental rights and leaving town. He never wanted me. Damon doesn't want me. Everybody leaves."

Jenna rocked Elena gently and stroked her hair until she calmed down. Once Elena's crying had slowed, Jenna tentatively broached a topic she'd been hoping to discuss recently.

"So… I've been doing some research…"

"Research?" Elena asked, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Into your birth mother, in case you ever wanted to start looking."

Elena's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jenna cut her off.

"I haven't searched far!" Jenna said. "I didn't have much to go off, only her name and that she lived around here."

"What… what did you find?" Elena asked, her voice small.

"Come on inside," Jenna said, helping Elena stand. The two went into the kitchen where Jenna's laptop sat on the dining room table. Next to the laptop sat a small stack of journals. "Your dad kept everything from his medical practice—records, logs, old appointment books," Jenna said, picking up a journal. She opened it and turned to a page she's previously bookmarked. Handing the journal to Elena, she said, "I found an entry from the night you were born. Patient and a birth date. Isobel Peterson."

"Do you think that's her real name?" Elena asked.

Jenna shook her head lightly. "Pregnant teenage runaway? Probably not. First name, maybe. But where'd she get Peterson? Classmate? Best friend? So I Googled it." Jenna opened her internet browser and typed 'Isobel Peterson'. "I searched for all the Petersons in this area born the same year as Isobel, found 3-2 men and a woman, Trudie, who lived in Grove Hill, Virginia."

"That's not far from here!" Elena said in wonder. "Can you find where she lives? Like you said, she was a pregnant teen runaway, she could have left to give me a better life, not because she didn't want me!"

A solemn look crossed Jenna's face. "That's the thing, Elena," she said softly. Her voice cracked the same way it did in the hospital when she told Elena her parents didn't make it. "Rick's wife… her name was Isobel. She lived not far from here. Fell's Church. I'm not sure, but from what I know about Rick's Isobel… they could be one and the same."

"Perfect, we can start there," Elena cried, her already extrapolated emotions climbing higher. "Where is she? They're divorced, right?"

"That's the thing, Elena… Rick's wife… She died two years ago."

The light in Elena's eyes dimmed somewhat. "Isobel isn't an uncommon name, they might not be the same person..."

"The way the names are spelt though, I-S-O-B-E-L. The fact they both lived close to Mystic Falls. Rick's wife ran away from home at sixteen and your birth mother was sixteen when she gave birth to you. What's more…"

Jenna opened one of the Google searches to show an old, fuzzy black-and-white photo of two girls in Fell's Church High School cheerleading uniforms. The caption below read, 'Isobel Flemming and Trudie Peterson.' Once Elena had seen the image, Jenna opened a new tab in her web browser and typed in Isobel Saltzman. Jenna clicked on Isobel's Duke University profile.

The woman in the image looked in her mid to late-thirties. Her hair was dark like the younger woman in the cheerleading photograph. That former image, however, was in too a bad condition to compare with this much newer one.

"There's a similarity," Elena admitted. "But they could still be different people."

Jenna looked at her niece sadly. "They could," she conceded. "If you want to talk Rick about it, we could approach him together to find out more. I haven't told him any of this."

"I… I…" There was so much Elena wanted to say. So many questions. Instead, she turned her back on her aunt and ran.

* * *

Caroline woke up gasping for air. Her chest hurt, and she was finding it difficult to breathe. Her eyes felt like sand and she couldn't see clearly. She wiped her eyes and screamed at the pain. Her eyes were still blurry but when she pulled back her hand, Caroline could tell that the sticky, red substance on her palm was blood. Then she looked down. She screamed again. What looked like a thick, brown branch was protruding from her chest.

Caroline reached over to her handbag that lay open on the passenger seat. Leaning over hurt more than she could bear and she could hardly see, but she knew she had to call for help.

With closed eyes, Caroline felt for her phone. When she found it, she moved her finger along the keypad until she reached the number 3, hoping it hadn't been decimated in the crash. She pressed the number 3 button and could barely hear the soft ringing tone, then a man's voice. She couldn't make out what he was saying, too exhausted and in too much pain to try and find the speakerphone option. Instead, she just spoke.

"Damon," she wheezed. Speaking hurt more than any other movement, but Caroline knew that she needed help. "Damon, I need your help. I'm just outside the town limits. I was in a car accident and I'm hurt. I'm…"

Speaking grew too painful and Caroline teetered off. Black spots appeared in her vision. She could hear Damon's voice, but his words were still indiscernible to her. The grip on her phone relaxed and Caroline succumbed to the darkness.

When she woke up again, Caroline was lying in a soft bed. She felt the press of a blanket on her naked skin. The pain was still there, but when Caroline opened her eyes, she could see.

She turned her head and saw Damon sitting next to her, his back resting against the headboard. He looked down at her. The expression on his face was one she had never seen. A mixture of sadness and guilt. He tried to smile. "I'd ask you're feeling, but..."

Caroline sat up, wincing at the pain. The blanket fell from her torso but, at that moment, Caroline couldn't care less about her nakedness. "You found me," she smiled.

"I had your blood in my system, and mine was still in yours. It helped me trace you. I guess blood-play comes in handy when your ex-girlfriend calls you in the middle of the night, crying."

"You make it sound like I drunk-dialled you," she laughed, though the sound was hollow. She knew that Damon was trying to distract her and that he wouldn't address the situation if she didn't lead them both to the discussion. "How am I alive. I had been impaled! How could I have survived?"

Damon moved his body so that he was facing her. He cupped a cheek and Caroline thought of how she had never seen such tenderness in his eyes before.

"When I found you, you were covered in blood, you had glass in your eyes and face, and the front of your car was pulverised. You... You didn't survive, Caroline."

The words were spoken softly and slowly, but Caroline still needed several moments to process what Damon had said. "What… How?"

"Like I said, my blood was in your system," Damon said sitting upright. He couldn't look at her, couldn't help but feel that this was partially his fault. _No_ , he thought after a second. _Somebody killed her and then drove away. None of this is on me._ Still, a small part of Damon hurt for Caroline - the part that was forced into being a vampire. "You're in transition," he said, finally.

"I'm a vampire." It wasn't a question. Caroline looked down at her stomach. It was red and bloodied, and she could see more of her insides than she ever cared to. "Why aren't I healed?" _Don't tell me I'm going to be a vampire doughnut for eternity!_

"My blood has begun to heal you, but it's a slow process. So far, only your eyes have healed and your lungs have sealed back up, but your ribs are still repairing themselves, so that's why it's still probably difficult to breathe. You need to complete the transition to heal completely."

"What do I have to do?"

"Caroline," Damon started, "You don't have to do this. Living forever as a vampire, drinking blood to survive… Can you honestly say you want this?"

That made Caroline pause. Did she want to be a vampire? What was the other option? It's not like she could suddenly become human again. She'd died! Besides, she didn't need to hurt people. Her time with Damon and observing Stefan showed her that.

"I want to live," she said finally. "No matter if I need to live off blood forever. I want to live, Damon."

Damon nodded and reached to the bedside table, picking up a blood bag. "I picked this up from the hospital."

"You stole from a hospital?"

"Would you rather I kidnap a stranger and serve them to you on a nice shiny platter? Suck it up, Caroline."

Damon froze as he registered what he said. So did Caroline. They slowly looked at each other. Caroline was the first to crack and her short laughter turned into a gasp as she registered the pain in her abdomen. When Caroline cried out in pain, Damon placed the blood bag on her lap. He wasn't about to force feed her, but he would coax.

"Drink," he said calmly. "You'll heal properly and then we'll figure how to break the news to everyone."

Caroline hadn't thought of that. How would her friends react? Her mother? Oh god, her mother. "My mother is going to kill me."

If it were anyone else, and regarding any other subject, Damon would have laughed at Caroline's dramatics. But the fact of the matter was that Caroline's mother was a vampire-slaying officer of the law who _would_ possibly try and kill her daughter if she knew what Caroline had turned into.

"We'll figure it out later."

"Will you help me?" Caroline asked, timidly.

"Well, it was my blood that did this to you. I'd be irresponsible not to help you get the hang of being undead."

Caroline smirked. It was the smirk that came right before they tore each other's clothes off and fucked. "Does this mean you're my vampire father? Do I get to call you daddy?"

Damon rolled his eyes. "I thought we agreed you weren't to call me that outside of the bedroom."

"Technically, we're in a bedroom. And this wasn't your fault, you know," Caroline said, echoing Damon's earlier thoughts. "It was Tyler's."

Caroline grabbed the blood bag from her lap and drained its contents. She felt the hole in her chest close and the bones in her body that been broken in the crash were beginning to heal as well.

Beside her, Damon was seething. "Tyler who?"

Caroline stole a glance at her ex-boyfriend. He looked murderous. "Tyler Lockwood. He was driving with Vicki Donovan—"

"I should have killed them both when I had the chance," she heard him say under his breath. Caroline wondered what else she might be able to hear. The noise from the birds outside was so loud to her now that they sounded as though they were in the room with her. She heard cars driving past the boarding house.

Then she heard it. The slick pumping sound that made her mouth water. The front door of the boarding house opened and Elena called out Stefan's name.


	16. Chapter 16

"Stefan!" Elena called.

Elena had barely finished speaking when Damon appeared in front of her.

"Damon! Where's Stefan? I need—"

"You need to leave."

Elena quirked an eyebrow. "Leave?"

Damon grabbed Elena's shoulders, turned her around and began nudging her toward the front door of the boarding house. "Yes," he said. "It's not a great time, Elena."

Elena crossed her arms over her chest. "What if I have news about Katherine?"

Damon paused. "Do you?"

Elena sighed. "No, but—"

"Then go."

"Hey!" Elena exclaimed, pushing his hands off her. "You don't get to push me around! Now, where's your brother. I really need a friend right n—"

"And I need to not have a human in my house right now. For fuck's sake, Elena."

At Damon's distressed voice, Elena turned around to fully face him. His expression was stoic but Elena could sense the tension that lay beneath.

"What's wrong? What's happened?" she asked in quick succession. "Is it Stefan? Is he okay? Are _you_ okay?"

Damon groaned and with vampiric strength, he picked her up and flew to the end of the drive.

"Hey!" she cried. "What was that for?"

"Like I said. Not a great time to have a human in the house."

"Did Stefan fall off the wagon?" Elena asked in a serious, hushed tone.

"Fall of the wagon?" Damon asked with his head cocked. "No, it's not Stefan."

Elena cocked an eyebrow. For the first time since she arrived, she noticed that Damon was shirtless. He had a large scratch along his ribcage, he had scraps along his knuckles, and blood was smeared over his chest.

"Ahh," Elena said, putting the pieces together. "You have someone over. Another vampire? A dangerous one?"

Damon went to speak, then stopped himself. After a short moment, he said, "Yes. And she's still new to all this. Isn't great around humans yet."

Elena scoffed. "Of course, it's a 'she'," she muttered.

Annoyance flashed in Damon's eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you couldn't even wait two weeks until we got Katherine out of the tomb before you screwed around with some other girl."

"That's not what this is, Elena—"

"And what about Caroline? Have you broken up with her yet? Or are you still leading my friend on? I can't _believe you_ , Damon."

Damon began to speak when the door to the boarding house flew off it's hinges. Elena turned her head up sharply at the noise.

"Caroline?" she questioned. She turned to Damon. "You told me there was a dangerous vampire in there! Oh wait, you don't want her to find out about Katherine, do you." Elena's anger grew as she moved toward her friend. "Care—"

"Elena, don't!" Damon cried.

That's when Elena saw it. The changes in Caroline's face. Her eyes grew black and dark veins began to appear around her eyes. It was the same look Damon and Stefan got when they got really mad, only more prominent. Unlike Damon and Stefan, Caroline's face turned Elena's blood cold.

Elena stumbled back with shock. "Care, what—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Caroline blurred to Elena, grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, and sank her fangs into her friend's neck.

Elena screamed in pain and in shock. Damon flung Caroline off Elena and pushed the palm of his hand against Caroline's chest, sending her flying backwards. Caroline slammed into a tree and growled.

"Caroline!" he said, his voice commanding. "It's Elena. You don't want to hurt Elena."

As if coming out of a trance, Caroline's fangs retracted and the veins around her eyes began to fade. Elena, still in shock, held her hand against her bleeding neck.

"How— Damon, did you? What…?"

"I'm sorry, Elena," Damon said, walking toward Elena slowly. "Drink my blood, it'll heal you."

Ignoring Damon, Elena stared straight at Caroline. "You're a vampire…" she said, her voice was soft and wavering. She began feeling faint.

Damon repeated Elena's name, trying to get attention. As he bent down to collect her into his arms, he heard Stefan call his name from inside the boarding house. He could only imagine what Stefan was thinking.

"Stefan?" Elena questioned. She looked as if she was in a daze. _Shock,_ Damon deduced.

"Damon!" Stefan called again, storming out of the boarding house. "Why is our front door off its hinges?"

"Stefan—"

Stefan's eyes widened, noticing Elena for the first time. "Elena, what— Damon what did you do?"

Damon grew angry. How could Stefan think he'd hurt Elena. Not when she looked so much like—

"Stefan?" It wasn't Elena's voice this time, but Caroline's. The blonde girl sat under the tree Damon had thrown her against. The tree was splintered but Caroline looks fine, apart from the tears streaming down her face. She was sobbing. "Stefan, get me away. I can _smell_ her."

Stefan did a double take seeing Caroline's small figure. He smelt the air, tasting the scent of a vampire close by. He noticed blood at the corner of Caroline's mouth and knew instantly what had happened.

Stefan looked to Elena. Damon had taken her in his arms and placed her in the passenger seat of her car. Seeing that Elena was safe, Stefan flashed to Caroline's side. He scooped her up, similar to how Damon picked up Elena, and ran her inside the boarding house.

Placing Caroline on the leather sofa in the living room, he brushed a piece of hair that had stuck to her face. "How did this happen?" he asked.

Caroline continued to sob. In between her cries, she explained the situation to Stefan. "Car accident. Tyler Lockwood… he ran me off the road. I woke up not too long ago but then Elena and…" She broke down again.

Without realising what he was doing, Stefan brought Caroline's head to his chest and rocked her back and forth, comforting her. She looked so broken. So different to the confident woman who graced his brother's bed or the intelligent and frankly intimidating woman who he shared Calculus with.

"Stef," Damon said, taking in the image before him. He struggled to leave Elena. She was hurt and it was partially his fault for not getting her out of the way sooner. It was also startling to see. Damon couldn't remember a time where he'd seen Katherine look so vunerable. He silently tucked that thought away and thought about Caroline. He'd promised Caroline that he'd stay with her. After she just attacked her best friend, Damon gathered she'd need him now more than ever.

"How's Elena?" Stefan asked, pulling back from Caroline.

Caroline looked up at Damon as well, guilt swimming in her eyes.

Addressing Caroline, Damon knelt in front of his new vampire prodigy. "Elena's fine. She's shaken up, but she'll be fine." Turning to Stefan, he continued, "Can you take her home? And try and give her your blood. She refused to take mine."

Stefan's brow furrowed at the command his brother was showing. He addressed Elena kindly, instead of in the flirty tone he always used, and he was acting almost paternal toward Caroline. Not thinking too much about it, Stefan nodded and rose to his feet.

Stefan flashed to Elena's car. He saw her sitting in her passenger seat, her knees tucked under her chin, her arms hugging her legs to herself. She looked up as if sensing his presence, tears glistening in her eyes. When she turned her head, Stefan noticed the angry bite mark on her neck. Her neck was caked with blood and her hair was sticking to the red substance. Quickly, and without frightening Elena further, Stefan jumped into the driver's side and turned on the engine.

"Elena, I know this is a shock—"

"A shock?" She scoffed lightly, her voice still wobbly. "My best friend is a—"

"You're already friend's with a vampire, Elena," Stefan said simply.

Elena's mind reeled. Still, she supposed it was normal for her. She'd met Stefan over a month ago and became friends with him right away. She met Damon months before that. But Caroline…

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she said. "Caroline…. She always wanted to get married. Have children. She's had her life planned out down to the year she would get her first grey hair. Now, she's… She'll never…"

"Elena," Stefan said in a soft voice as if he were approaching a small child or a skittish animal. "Elena, it'll be okay. Damon will—"

"How could he let this happen?" she cried. Her voice was high-pitched, and she could feel her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

Her outburst shocked Stefan. "Once Caroline feeds some more, once she gets her urges under control—"

"When will that be? Huh? When will I get to see my friend again? What are we going to tell people when she doesn't come to school? What will we tell Liz? Oh my god, Liz! She'll—"

"We'll get to that when later. For now, I'll drive you home. You look dead on your feet."

"No," Elena said, shaking her head. "I can't leave her. She must be so scared!"

"You're not going back inside," Stefan said, peeling out of the drive. "She already hurt you."

"She wasn't in control!" Elena exclaimed.

Stefan glanced at her in his periphery. _Does she have no sense of self-preservation?_ he wondered. "It's too dangerous," he said.

"How long will it take for her to feed?"

"What?"

"How long, Stefan?"

Confused by the question, Stefan said, "I don't know. An hour, maybe two. It depends on if Damon needs to restock on blood bags."

"One hour," Elena said with finality.

"One hour, what?" Stefan asked.

"We'll drive around for one hour, give me time to calm down. Then we're going back."

"But—"

"No buts, Stefan," Elena said, holding up her hand to silence him. "We're going back?" While part of Elena was terrified — what if Caroline tried to attack her, what if she fed on her… or worse? — another part of her, the part that had been friends with Caroline for almost a decade, wanted to jump out of the moving car and run back to the boarding house right away. "She must be so scared," Elena said aloud.

Stefan gave a curt nod, a thousand things running through his mind. He wanted answers like Elena did. While he wasn't exactly friend's with Caroline, he was sad for her. To Stefan, being a vampire (and on top of that, being sired to Damon) was like living in a nightmare where you were the monster.

There were positives, of course. The strength, the power, the compulsion. Still, if it weren't for the fact that Stefan couldn't bear to leave Damon alone in the world, even if he hated him, Stefan would have taken his daylight ring off decades ago and stepped out naked into the sun.

He didn't tell Elena any of this, however. He could feel the tension in her body. It seeped out of her and filled the car. She was worried for her friend, and Stefan wasn't about to escalate that concern.

"I still think it's a bad idea," Stefan said. She could hurt you. Hell! She already has."

"She couldn't help it!"

"And what makes you think she'll be better in an hour?" Stefan asked, his jaw was tight as he fought the urge to drive her straight home and lock her up until Caroline had herself under control.

"I'll have you," she said, looking at Stefan. "And Damon. We'll be prepared this time. All of us. Caroline _can_ do this. She _has to_ do this."

There was a tension marinating in the car akin to a lover's quarrel. Elena knew Stefan had strong feeling for her, and she knew that he was only trying to keep her safe, but she wasn't some girl he could hide away from any danger that came her way. She was a Gilbert, for crying out loud. She could handle a vampire, it was in her blood.

Silence ensued as Stefan rolled Elena's car past the Gilbert residence. Pulling into the Gilbert drive, Stefan heard the light snores of Jenna and Jeremy. The look on Elena's face was on of fear and sadness as she looked at her childhood home. Stefan could sense that she didn't want to be there.

"We'll head back," he sighed. "Give Caroline enough time to feed and work through her emotions. Everything, every emotion and personality trait, heightens when you become a vampire. She'll need time to adjust."

"Really? You'll take me back?"

Stefan nodded. "It'll be dangerous," he told Elena. "But you're right, you'll have me and Damon. We'll all be prepared to catch her if anything happens this time around. Besides, it doesn't look like home is where you want to be right now."

 _He knows me so well,_ Elena thought. The smile that tugged at the corner of Elena's lips turned to a grimace as Elena asked, "What… What happens now. With Caroline?"

"Just be there for her. That's all we can do at the moment," Stefan said, back the car back out of the Gilbert drive and onto the road. He continued the way he'd come, taking a surprise turn just before reaching the road that lead to the boarding house.

When Elena noticed Stefan was taking the scenic route back, she relaxed into her seat. Though her posture was still tense. "Will you help her?" she asked.

"I'll do what I can," Stefan said. "But I'm probably not the best person to help her. As much as it pains me to say this, Damon has perfected his control over the last century. At the very least, she won't go on a murder spree."

Elena flinched, and Stefan instantly regretted his frankness. "You can change your mind, you know. Go home. I can drop you home and bring your car over in the morning. The sun will be coming up soon and you look like you haven't slept in days…"

"No," Elena said, her voice full of conviction for the first time that night. "Caroline needs me."

"She could hurt you again."

"I said no, Stefan."

"Okay…" Stefan began. Then he wondered aloud, "Why were you at the boarding house so late, anyway."

Stefan heard Elena's heartbeat begin to race. It wasn't from fear, but he could sense some anxiety in the sound. He waited until she was ready to speak.

"Jenna found out some information about my birth mother," she whispered, knowing Stefan could hear her. She struggled to get the next sentence out. "She… uh… she's dead."

"Dead?"

"At least, Jenna thinks she is. Jenna thinks she was Alaric's ex-wife."

"Mr. Saltzman?" Stefan couldn't help but think how Elena's life resembled a telenovela.

"Yeah, he and Jenna are dating. Have been for a couple of months now. He was there for us all when my parents died. He's… well, he's well versed in dealing with dead family members."

Stefan raised an eyebrow. "Including his ex-wife."

"So it seems..." Elena trailed off. "One parent is dead, the other is an estranged uncle I haven't seen in years. Not to mention, my brother hates me and my aunt is dating my history teacher slash maybe-step-dad." Finally, the dam broke. Tears streamed down Elena's face. "I feel like all I've done lately is cry," she said through the sobs.

"You've gone through a lot," Stefan said, trying to comfort her. "You're allowed to cry."

"I didn't cry when my parents died," she said, between two deep breaths. "I was upset, sure, but I didn't cry. They wouldn't have wanted me to cry."

"Elena—"

"It's just everything has been piling up. Ever since— Wait! What's that?"

Stefan looked to where Stefan was pointing and slowed the car down. He noticed skid marks on the road and a silver car hanging off the side with a large branch smashed through the windshield. Stefan smelt blood. _Caroline's blood._

Stefan stopped the car and Elena jumped out and ran to the crash site. "That's Caroline's car!" she cried. "Oh my god, this… this is what killed her."

Elena moved closer and saw Caroline's handbag in the passenger seat and her phone sitting open next to it. One end of the branch, the end that rested against the leather seats of Caroline's small car, was covered in blood. Smashed glass and blood littered the inside of the vehicle.

Clutching her stomach, Elena held back the urge to vomit. This was the reality check she needed. "She's dead," she muttered, falling to her knees on the cold asphalt. The jagged road hurt her knees, but all Elena could focus on at that moment was the site of her best friend's last human breath. "It's really. She's really dead."

Stefan came up behind Elena and placed his arm around her shoulder. "But she's not gone," she whispered to her. "She's at the boarding house remember. She'll be okay."

"She's dead," Elena said, some semblance of strength returning to her wavering voice. "But not gone."

Stefan pulled Elena to her feet. "Let's go and see her, hey?"

Elena let Stefan guide to back to the car. As they drove the rest of the way to the boarding house, the two silently agreed to not speak. Stefan concentrated on driving them back to the house while Elena looked out the passenger side window at the rising sun.

When they reached the house, Elena noticed that all the windows were closed. The curtains that were up a few hours ago had been replaced by thick, heavy-looking drapes. Elena got out of the car before Stefan had fully turned off the engine. She power walked to the door, her body lethargic and tired from lack of sleep. As she reached the door, it opened. Damon stood on the other side and whispered, "She's asleep."

Elena stepped into the house and went to go up the stairs where she assumed Caroline was resting. A hand on her arm stopped her.

"Elena, you should—"

"Don't tell me to go," she hissed.

Damon sighed and let go of her arm as Stefan walked through the door. "Has she fed?" the younger Salvatore asked.

Damon nodded his head, his voice still at a whisper. "I got a few blood bags from the hospital after the accident. She polished them off real fast."

"I'll go and get some more," Stefan said. "I'm not taking any chances with Elena in the house."

Elena ignored Stefan's concern and instead took a step toward Damon. Damon braced himself for Elena's anger. He, after all, had let her best friend be killed and brought back as a vampire.

Instead of attacking him, however, Elena flew her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Thank you," she spoke into his neck. "Thank you for bringing her back."

Damon relaxed somewhat, though he still felt tense. A thrill went through him as he let the warmth of Elena's body against his overwhelm him. He wasn't sure if it was because of the events that had occurred or if some part of him was warming up to this human girl—the part he'd been trying to ignore since he first met Elena all those months ago. Whatever it was, Damon felt himself hug her back.

"Damon," a voice came from the staircase. It was Caroline, still clad in Damon's dress shirt. "I'm hungry again."

Damon let go of Elena. "I'll get you more blood, Care. Elena, you should really…"

"I have animal blood in the cellar," Stefan said, addressing Caroline. "It's not much but it should tide you over for a few hours while I go and get more blood."

"Stefan, she's my—"

"You're stronger than me," Stefan said, cutting his brother off. Damon could see how much it pained Stefan to admit his weakness, but he was too tired and pent-up to tease him. He let Stefan continue. "You can keep Elena safe."

"But—"

Elena could see where Damon was going and cut him off. "I'm not leaving," she said, determined. Looking up the staircase to where Caroline stood, Elena said, "Go and get some rest, Care. Damon and I will be up with more blood soon."

Caroline looked to Damon as if seeking permission. Elena had never seen her friend so uncertain about anything. When Damon nodded, Caroline left, and Stefan told Elena and Damon that he'd be back soon. When he sped off. Elena turned to Damon and asked, "So where's this blood?"

Damon sighed, knowing there was no talking Elena out of staying. He led her down to the cellar and opened a large freezer that sat in the corner near rows upon rows of wine and bourbon. Elena quickly drew her attention away from the array of alcohol and grabbed the bags of blood Damon had started taking out of the freezer. The sight made Elena feel nauseous, but she pushed through it. _For Caroline,_ she reminded herself.

With arms full of blood, Elena and Damon walked up to the first floor and then tackled the stairs. Elena felt her body growing more and more tired, but she pushed through it all. _For Caroline. For Caroline._

"She's in my room," Damon said, opening the door to a bedroom just down the hall from Stefan's. When the door opened, Elena saw Caroline sitting on top of Damon's bed. Her legs were crossed, the sight of men's boxer briefs visible from beneath the shirt she wore. Elena couldn't help but notice how small Caroline looked.

"We brought food," Elena said with a small smile. "Forgive me for not joining you. I'm on a diet."

Caroline choked out a small laugh, which soon turned into a sob. Elena put the blood bags down on a chest of draws and went to Caroline. An arm grabbed her from behind and pulled her back.

"Let her feed first," Damon said. Slowly, he walked over to Caroline and handed her a couple of bags. "Here, drink this," he told her.

Caroline eyed the bags, dark veins appearing around her eyes. Elena caught a glimpse of white fangs protruding down from her gums. She flinched in shock but recovered herself quickly, not wanting Caroline to think Elena was scared or disgusted.

The urge to recoil grew as Caroline tore into one of the blood bags. Blood dripped down her chin and soaked through the shirt she wore. Caroline pulled back from the bag with a grimace of her face.

"Yeah, it's not great, but it'll have to do 'til we can you some human stuff," Damon joked, though his voice was strained. "I'll get you a fresh shirt."

Elena swore she saw Caroline blush. _Can vampires still do that?_ she thought silently.

"I keep ruining them, I'm sorry," Caroline said.

Damon shrugged. "Whatever, I'm just glad I didn't give you one of my Varvatos shirts. Those are expensive!"

Caroline smirked softly. The casual nature with which Damon was treating helped calm her anxiety. It also helped her ignore the sounds and smell of fresh, pumping blood emanating from Elena. _Elena,_ she thought. _It's Elena. Elena is friend, not food._

Caroline repeated that thought over and over as she finished the blood bag and drank two others. She wiped her mouth with the collar of her shirt as Damon came in with a fresh one.

For the first time since she came into the room, Caroline fully looked at Elena. Her friend. The first thing she saw was a vein in Elena's neck throbbing. Then, Caroline saw it. The teeth marks, the dried blood. _I did that,_ Caroline thought. _I hurt my friend._

Quickly, Caroline turned her eyes to meet Elena's gentle brown ones. She had been frightened when she first heard Elena's voice when she first came to the boarding house hours ago. She was afraid of the judgement she might see. Or worse, the fear. Looking at Elena now, she saw none of that. She noticed Elena looked concerned, but it reminded Caroline of that time she fell out of a tree and fractured her arm, and Elena spent the afternoon in the emergency room with her. It was a friendly, almost-maternal look.

Caroline grabbed the shirt from Damon and asked, "Do you mind if I…"

Elena smiled and shook her head. "Your fifteenth birthday slumber party," Elena reminded her, quirking an eyebrow.

Caroline smiled and pulled off the bloody shirt and pulled on the fresh one.

Damon eyed Elena with a gleam in his eye. "So, the rumours of girls, sleepovers and naked pillow fights are true," he joked.

Elena rolled her eyes. "More like girls, too much vodka and projectile vomit," she said remembering the occasion. Her, Caroline and Bonnie snuck into the Sheriff's booze. Caroline had drunkenly peeled off her vomit-soaked dress and slept between Elena and Bonnie in only a pair of panties.

Damon cringed at the mental image Elena's words brought and turned his focus back to Caroline. Elena saw the almost-soft expression he had when addressing Care. It was a cross between guilt and something paternal. It wasn't a look Elena had ever seen Damon wear, or one she even knew he had.

"How are you feeling, Blondie," Damon asked.

"Not quite full but not ravenous either," Caroline answered honestly.

"Can I…" Elena asked, stepping forward as if to approach Caroline. Both Caroline and Damon froze. "It's okay, you won't hurt me, Care," Elena said. "And if you get the urges, Damon will be here to stop you. Stefan will be back soon with more blood bags. We won't let you hurt anyone."

"Elena, I'm scared," Caroline said in a tiny voice. It reminded Elena of when they were ten and Caroline was still scared of the dark. At one slumber party, Caroline had crawled into Elena's bed and curl up into her side, whispering about a monster inside the closet. Elena stroked Caroline's long blonde locks until she fell asleep.

Elena eyed Damon. She moved toward Caroline again, raising an eyebrow in his direction, daring him to stop her. Damon moved forward, poising himself to interfere if Caroline attacked Elena. Slowly, Elena crawled into Damon's bed. Sitting against the headboard, she brought Caroline's head to her lap. Caroline clenched her teeth. She felt the ache of her fangs extending, piercing through her gums, and she willed herself to ignore the sound of Elena's blood pumping through her veins or the smell of Elena's flesh beneath her jeans. Caroline remained still as the grave until Elena began combing her hair with her fingers.

"It'll be okay, Care," Elena said gently, just like she did when they were children. "I'm not leaving you."

* * *

Elena spent all day with Caroline. She stayed the night after Caroline's accident, too. As the two friends reconnected, Bonnie sat outside in the woods behind her Grams' house. Bonnie could barely make out her surrounds and the sky was pitch black, except for the moon that shone full and bright above.

Grams finished lighting the candles that she had placed in a circle around them. The Bennett family grimoire, an old and magical spell book, lay open in the soft grass.

"Grab my hands, child," Grams said. "Remember the incantation we've been practising?"

Bonnie nodded her head. She'd been practising the spell all week, managing to twist her tongue around the strange vocabulary. The spell, Bonnie's great-great-grandmother's spell that allowed a witch to harness the power of a full moon in an amulet, was only small in and of itself, but it required a lot of Latin words and hand movements. If one thing was done incorrectly, Grams warned that there would be significant consequences.

Grabbing hold of her Grams' hands, Bonnie focused on her magic and began chanting in Latin. Slowly letting go of Grams, Bonnie lifted her hands toward the full moon, still chanting. Bonnie's hands grew warm and began to tingle as she began pulling the power of the full moon toward herself. Once Bonnie's hands grew hot, she twisted her hands around as if creating an invisible ball in the air. Bringing her hands down, Bonnie brought the magic toward the amulet that lay in the grass beside the grimoire. The amulet glowed red as the magic flowed into it from Bonnie's hands.

Bonnie felt herself grow weary and quickly finished the spell. The amulet dimmed and the heat of the magic left Bonnie's hands. She sagged slightly but looked up at Grams with a smile on her face.

Grams returned Bonnie's smile. "I knew you could do it," she said.

Grams went to blow the candles out when a rustle in the trees made her pause. She looked around, feeling no wind. She listened harder and noticed she couldn't hear any sounds of owls or other nocturnal animals.

The rustling grew louder as if it were moving closer. Bonnie, noticing Grams' tense posture, looked around also. "What is it, Grams?" she asked.

Grams put a finger to her lips, silencing her granddaughter. She then touched her ear, telling Bonnie to listen.

Taking in her surrounds, Bonnie noticed the rustling too. "What do we do?" she whispered.

Grams held out her hand. Bonnie grabbed hold and listened to her grandmother's instruction. "Protection spell, then we go into defensive positions," Grams replied.

Bonnie nodded. She bent down to pick the amulet off the ground. Summoning the magic from the amulet for extra strength, Bonnie began chanting the protection spell Grams had taught her months ago when she first began her witch training.

As the rustling got louder, so did Bonnie's chanting. Grams slowed the spell and stood in a defensive stance with her weight going into her left leg and her hands out in front of her. Bonnie followed suit. She was still muttering the protection charm as a dark figure bounded out from the trees and landed in the clearing where Bonnie and Grams were.

Bonnie's eyes adjusted quickly, and she soon made out the figure. It was a wolf. Big and brown with matted fur. It growled, deep and low. Bonnie flinched and braced herself to fight as the wolf stalked closer. It reached the circle where the candles sit in a circle, encasing Bonnie and Grams. It flinched back with a whine, the magic of the circle harming the creature. It growled again.

Bonnie summon her magic in her hands again, revelling in the familiar warmth.

"Wait," Grams said, studying the wolf. Bonnie baulked. "It can't get through the protection spell," Grams said, lowering her hands. "It's only new. It's afraid."

"New?" Bonnie questioned. "It's a fully-grown wolf. Bigger, actually, than any wolf I've seen."

"It's more than a wolf," Grams said.

As she spoke, the creature ran toward them again, only to be knocked back once more by their magical barrier. It did this twice more, each time taking longer to stand back up. As it ran at them a third time, Grams held out her hands and summoned her magic. As the wolf hit the barrier, Grams pushed back with her magic. The wolf flew back farther than it had before, hitting a tree and falling to the ground unconscious.

Bonnie eyed the creature sceptically. "What is it then?" she asked. "If it's not a wolf?"

Grams stepped outside of the barrier and moved closer toward the creature. "It's a werewolf," she said.

"A werewolf?" Bonnie spluttered. "What's it doing here?"

"As I said, it's new." Grams leant down and brushed her hands through the wolf's fur. A low rumble emanated from its chest, but otherwise, it remained unconscious.

"New?"

"Newly turned," Grams explained. "It looked so scared."

"It tried to attack us!"

"Purely instinct," said Grams. "Go inside and grab a blanket."

"A blanket?"

Instead of answering, Grams shooed her away and continued inspecting the wolf.

 _Werewolf?_ Bonnie thought. _Can my life get any crazier than this?_

Bonnie entered her Grams' home and picked up one of the large throw blankets from the couch. She jogged back, not wanting Grams to be alone with the creature longer than necessary. When Bonnie returned, Grams took the blanket and threw it over the creature. I only covered it's middle, it's large head and hind legs still exposed.

"It should sleep until morning," Grams said, standing. "Then we'll see."

"See what?"

Grams smiled. "See who our new friend _really_ is."


End file.
